


it's all more fun with you around

by radioactiveRat



Category: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Developing Relationship, Getting Together, High School Drama, M/M, Period Typical Attitudes, Slow Burn, Teenagers, lots of swearing, they are teenagers but it's still the 60s, this is so self indulgent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:48:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22868149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radioactiveRat/pseuds/radioactiveRat
Summary: Cliff is a guy who gets into fights way too often, with barely any direction in life and not a care in the world. Rick's an ambitious theatre kid with a bunch of personal problems and big dreams. This is the story of their unlikely relationship.
Relationships: Cliff Booth/Rick Dalton
Comments: 35
Kudos: 75





	1. detention, theatre and a few rumours

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a long while ago and never actually meant to post it, but here I am. It's my first actuall fanfic so I'm a bit insecure, but whatevs,, hope you enjoy it (also english is not my first language so keep that in mind)

The old school theatre room surly wasn’t a place Cliff thought he was going to find himself in in the nearest future, yet here he was pulling curtains and helping the weird actor-kids set up their next show.

He wouldn’t really mind the job if he could get paid for it, or even if he was there out of his own free will, but the reality was that he’s got himself in trouble again and the detention was either that or cleaning the gym floors after hours. A fight was two people though, and he was happy that he at least managed to get Bruce out of trouble and take the punishment on himself. That kid’s parents would be livid if they found out he destroyed school property while fighting (sparing, as he would call it). At least Cliff’s mom didn’t give a shit, and he was bored anyway. This didn’t seem so bad. When he wasn’t being bossed around by the drama professor he found himself enjoying watching the antics of the theatre kids. He got very invested in a dispute of ‘which old timey dress looked better on the leading lady’ or the ongoing screams and shouts of the leading man trying to ‘do his job’. _Damn actors and their egos._ He thought to himself as he chuckled under his nose. Watching that particular guy was very fun, he seemed like a pain in the ass to be around, constantly anxious and on the verge of loosing his mind, but Cliff had to admit that the few times he heard him recite some Shakespeare or whatever it was, the guy was damn good.

He didn’t try to cross his path, knowing he would probably be yelled at. He spend most his time hanging back, talking to all the pretty girls and just doing whatever manual labour he was ordered to do, until now of course, just as he was about to be done for the day.

‘W-w-who the fuck put all of this shit here?!’ the leading man shouted after tripping on a loose wire in the back of the stage. He looked around and laid his eyes on Cliff, who honestly couldn’t care less, so he just shrugged and decided to get back to his work.

The actor wouldn’t let him just brush it off though, and Cliff held off the urge to roll his eyes as the younger boy walked closer.

‘Someone c-could have fucking broke something on that, asshole! D-do your job properly!’ The boy said, and Cliff couldn’t think of him as very threatening, with the stutter and all, but at least the guy was trying.

Cliff wasn’t really sure how to respond. He honestly couldn’t remember if it was him who put the wire there, but explaining that to the boy was a pain in the ass, so he shrugged again. The actor sighed in response, throwing his arms back. He looked like he was going to say something, but stopped himself. He didn’t look mad anymore, and for some reason didn’t walk immediately back on stage. The sudden change in his demeanour made Cliff a little worried.

‘Sorry buddy, M’gonna look out for the wires next time.’ Cliff spoke with a smile, trying to sound reassuring.

The guy nodded, crossed his arms and just stood there for a hot second, tapping his foot on the floor, looking like he was either going to scream at someone or break into a sob.

‘Nervous?’ Cliff asked trying to make some small talk, and the boy’s head shot up, like he was startled. He looked at Cliff confused, so he explained. ‘Before the show?’

‘Oh, oh... N-no. It’s not t-that.’ He said with a nervous tone. Almost a good one eighty from the shouting before. ‘It’s just... T-this guy Steve, the drama professor l-likes him, a-a-and she just told me he might get my next part. I’m just mad, that’s all.’

‘Yeah, makes sense why you’d be so riled up.’ Cliff responded, taking in the sudden stranger confession. The theatre kids apparently had way more serious drama than he thought.

‘S-sorry ‘bout that.’ The actor said shyly. ‘Didn’t mean to b-be a dick.’

‘No worries man.’ Cliff said, and saw the other boy smile for the first time. He didn’t think he would get even close to enjoying their little conversation, but the small talk wasn’t as awkward as he thought it would be, and the guy seemed to relax.

Cliff looked at him, finally from up close and saw that the girls really were right when they told him their leading man was handsome. His features were very soft, he was skinny and had that wild hair that wouldn’t stay in place which ladies were crazy about in those days. Cliff chuckled to himself, thinking about how little the previously seen rage suited that face.

‘W-what’s your name?’ the guy suddenly asked, making Cliff turn his eyes from his face, not to seem like a creep.

‘It’s Cliff. Cliff Booth.’ He said with the same laid back tone as always and extended his hand for the actor to shake.

‘Rick. Rick D-Dalton’ Right as he said it Rick cursed something under his nose and briefly avoiding eye contact shook Cliff’s hand. The older boy figured he was probably mad at himself for stuttering through his own name. Cliff had to admit he felt a little bad for the guy. This shit must be annoying as hell.

‘W-why are you working here?’ Rick asked. ‘I thought all the l-lighting and shit was f-for authorised school personnel only.’

‘Detention’

‘Oh shit, w-what for?’ Rick raised his eyebrows, he looked genuinely curious which Cliff found endearing. So he was going to entertain the actor a little while.

‘Ah, nothing much. Just a friendly fight.’ Cliff’s smile turned even wider when he saw Rick let out a small laugh of disbelief. As Cliff thought he was probably one of the _nicely put together_ students that never got in trouble. He wouldn’t like to assume, but he probably had a nice upbringing too, that’s why loosing the part in a school theatre show was such a big deal.

‘W-wanna go out for a smoke?’ Rick proposed, which caught Cliff off guard a little.

‘Nah, sorry. Gotta go home. My detention’s almost over.’ He said and saw Rick’s little smile fade. Cliff was surprised how much he would actually love to hang out with the actor more, but he made a few promises to his mom to take care of the house today.

‘Hey Rick!’ a voice called from the front of the stage, and Rick turned around to make himself seen for the guy who called him. The guy came up and send Cliff a confused glare, before turning back to face the actor.

‘The fuck are you up to here? You’re done practicing?’ he said with a snobbish, annoyed tone which immediately got on Cliff’s nerves. Rick didn’t say anything, and Cliff thought he could try could ease the tension just a little.

‘We were just chatting. Sorry to keep your leading man off work.’ Cliff joked and made Rick smile again. His laid back tone seem to annoy the newcomer slightly, which Cliff found a bit entertaining. It took him a moment but he recognised the guy as Tony whatever. A quite prominent personality who always put his nose in someone else’s business. He remembered the guy spreading some rumour about one of Cliff’s buddies, but he couldn’t remember what the drama was about if he tried. _Damn actors._

‘Chatting? Well that’s nice. Finally teaching Dalton how to speak properly?’ He said as he laughed to himself. Cliff stayed silent so it wouldn’t look like he in any way enjoyed the very low-tier insult. Rick on the other hand looked like he was resisting the urge to punch the guy.

‘F-fuck off.’ Rick threw, but didn’t look satisfied with the way he said it.

‘Right on it.’ Tony gave Rick a pat on the shoulder as he moved back to the stage, leaving Rick very annoyed. ‘Get back to work Dalton. The show’s tomorrow, wouldn’t want you to fuck it up.’

‘Right, right.’ Rick sighed, looking a little defeated. Then turned to Cliff and awkwardly pointed at the stage. ‘I-I’ll just go...’

‘See you pal.’ Cliff called as he waved to the actor. He didn’t know if he would actually ever cross paths with Rick again, but he certainly wouldn’t mind. The guy was surprisingly nice.

*

Cliff had no idea what actually compelled him to go see the show the next day. He told himself he was just bored, and the show was free to attend, and that curiosity just got the better of him. But truth was, and he wouldn’t wanna admit it, was that he just wanted to see Rick again. Maybe he was curious as to how he was gonna do on stage, but mostly he just wanted to show a little bit of support for the guy, since he gathered that he didn’t have it easy in the business. It helped that he was actually fun to talk to, and handsome too, but Cliff didn’t wanna think about that too much. So he just came in to enjoy the show.

And he did enjoy it. More than he though he would enjoy theatre. He sat next to a small, dark haired girl with a thick accent who clearly came in to see Rick too, since she was always applauding and cheering for him every time he got on stage. Cliff quickly started to share her enthusiasm, and actually got very invested in the story of the play.

It was a good old western, about a drunk, careless sheriff, wonderfully portrayed by Rick and a gun slinging lady newcomer played by the school’s sweetheart Sharon Tate. She grabbed Cliff’s attention, because as much as he heard about her he didn’t think she would be any good. He knew better not to trust any rumours, but Sharon was often described by her peers as the stereotypical dumb blonde who cares about nothing more than getting a date, but on stage she was full of charm and personality Cliff has never heard about. Not to mention she had a lot of chemistry with the leading man.

The leading man who for some reason absolutely captivated Cliff. He looked perfect for the role of a cowboy for sure, and the way he presented himself on stage was really incredible. No nervousness, no stutter, just Rick being totally immersed in the character he was playing. It looked like he was right in his element, and Cliff found himself being really proud of the guy he barely knew.

The show ended, and when the whole cast came up on stage Cliff couldn’t help it but cheer for the great entertainment they provided. Rick looked ecstatic, and when the actor’s gaze travelled to where he was sitting he could see his big smile grow even wider. He smiled back, not knowing if Rick had actually smiled at him or he was just imagining things and the boy was focusing on the European girl next to him.

Cliff was sure Rick noticed him though, and for some inexplicable reason decided to stay a little after the show. He kept his eyes on the girl, knowing Rick was gonna talk to her and then maybe the two boys would have an opportunity to chat again. She noticed he was eyeing her though, and not to seem like an absolute creep he decided to talk to her.

‘Enjoyed the show?’ he asked her with a smile.

‘Yes. Very.’ She said. ‘Are you a friend of Rick?’ her accent was indeed very thick, now that he heard her speak he could pinpoint that she was probably Italian.

Cliff shrugged, wondering how she came to that conclusion so quickly. ‘Nah, not really. I’ve got a job at the set yesterday and I talked to him, I just though I would come and see the play. Unrelated to Rick.’ _Wow, what a clear lie._

‘I liked it a lot.’ She said, but their conversation wouldn’t last much longer. The cast started to walk out from the backstage, and as soon as she saw Rick and Sharon come up she ran to them and with a very excited tone told them they were great.

‘Thank you so much dear!’ Sharon exclaimed and gave the girl a hug.

‘You were both amazing! I really liked the part when you shot the hunter!’ she imitated a few gun shots and shouted a _pow pow_ few times, with made both Rick and Sharon giggle.

‘Y-yeah, that was lots of fun.’

They didn’t get to talk a lot either, since it didn’t take Rick long to notice Cliff standing few steps from them. The actor quickly tried to grab his attention.

‘Hey! Didn’t think you were gonna s-show up.’ Rick called as he waved for Cliff to come closer.

‘Hello ladies.’ He greeted and shook both girls’ hands.

‘That’s Sharon, Francesca...’ Rick pointed to the ladies who both gave Cliff a wide smile. ‘and that’s C-Cliff.’

‘Pleasure to meet you both.’ Cliff spoke with a polite tone.

‘Oh wow, didn’t know you guys were friends.’ Sharon said with excitement.

‘N-not really.’

‘We’ve just chatted for a moment yesterday.’ Cliff explained as both girls nodded.

‘W-what made you show up buddy?’ Rick asked.

‘Honestly I’ve got no idea. I was just bored so I thought I could check out what all the fuss was about.’

‘Well you look like you liked it! Maybe we’ll see you more in the audience.’ Sharon assumed and Cliff just nodded. The girl’s excitement was very contagious. ‘Rick was so good wasn’t he?’

‘C-come on-‘

‘No, Rick, you were amazing! And the stupid professor didn’t think you’d be up for it. Can you believe that?’ She turned to Francesca and Cliff, who really had no idea what she was going on about, so they just smiled and nodded. ‘

I-I wasn’t t-that good.’ Rick spoke shyly.

‘Come on.’ Cliff decided to jump into the conversation. He wouldn’t let the guy put himself down like that. ‘You were pretty damn good bud. I mean it.’

‘T-thanks’ Rick turned to look at Cliff, with his bright eyes and the widest smile Cliff has ever seen him wear. The two girls giggled, and Cliff gave the boy a pat on the shoulder, feeling surprisingly proud again.

*

‘I don’t think you should be hanging with Cliff.’ Francesca said, and Rick looked up at her, confused.

They were hanging at the school’s back yard, it was the day after the show and Rick needed his regular daily smoke break. Francesca insisted to come with him, since she apparently needed to tell him something. Rick would bet on anything else, but he wouldn’t think she would start talking about Cliff all of a sudden. Rick thought Cliff was a nice guy. He seemed very chill and genuine. Also he was the only person so far that hasn’t made a comment about Rick’s stutter upon talking to him for the first time, which was a big plus in his book. They talked for a while after the show, even went on the overdue smoke together, and it seems like both Sharon and Francesca liked him, so he wouldn’t know why she had a sudden a problem with him.

‘W-why is that?’ Rick said and took a quick drag from his almost finished cigarette. ‘B-besides, w- we’re not hanging out. I talked to him just like, two times.’

‘Okay, but you shouldn’t hang out. I’ve asked about him, because I thought I’ve heard something, some rumour.’

‘And w-what, you b-believe rumours all of a sudden?’ Rick was getting annoyed, which he didn’t want to show. He didn’t know Cliff, so he shouldn’t really stand up for him, but he shouldn’t believe anything people say either.

‘A lot of people are scared of him.’ Francesca explained, putting on a more serious tone.

‘They say he once beat up a guy so bad he ended up in the hospital.’

‘Oh come on. Y-y-you, you don’t know if that’s true.’

‘All rumours are based in truth.’

‘W-well. I ain’t h-hanging out with him anyway.’ Rick reassured, consciously leaving out the part about how he did want to hang out more, but just had no idea how to even approach the guy. He didn’t have many people he could call friends. Nobody was as close to him as Francesca, and she was just a buddy to talk to on breaks. Sharon was nice, but she had her own circle Rick desperately tried to fit into, but failed miserably. Having someone like Cliff to be his friend would do him fine. Rick would honestly jump at any opportunity for friendship, but there was something special about Cliff. He just had a feeling they would be good together. Why, he had no idea.


	2. cars, girls and fights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter woohoo  
> thank you for all the kudos it means a lot <3  
> enjoy

‘So you’re telling me you have this rocking old-school car and you’re not gonna use it?’ Cliff clarified and made Rick roll his eyes as he took a drag of his smoke.

They were in Rick’s usual cig spot in the school’s back yard. They bumped into each other at the hallway, well, not really bumped. It so happened that some douchebag was bothering Rick, for some inexplicable reason having something to do with Sharon. Rick was still perplexed as to why people were so hung up on her that the simple friendly attitude she had for the actor warranted a bunch of jealousy-filled insults. Even if he was romantically interested in her that kind of behaviour would still be a little insane. Bullies really had to reach for reasons to be a pain in the ass.

Long story short Cliff saw the whole ordeal and threatened the guy to fuck off or they were gonna square off in the middle of the hallway. Rick was impressed by how effective the threat was, the guy left them alone in seconds and Cliff got Rick out for a smoke. Now the conversation somehow got to the point of cars, and Rick couldn’t care less about that.

‘I-It’s not m-my car. It’s my parent’s.’ Rick explained with a sigh.

‘Yeah, but they ain’t using it. So it’s technically yours. Why the hell aren’t you rolling up in that baby to school everyday?’ Cliff asked, still keeping that dumb smug smile on his face. It was a sunny day, so he was wearing sunglasses that Rick learned he always had on him. Somehow not seeing Cliff’s eyes made Rick less hesitant to stare at his face all the time, and he had to admit he kinda liked his smile.

‘I d-don’t...’ Rick stopped, hesitant to reveal one of the many little embarrassing facts about his life. ‘I don’t have a license.’

‘Well, get on it then. You’re old enough.’ Cliff suggested and bumped Rick in the arm. 

‘I-it’s not that. I’m a shit driver.’ Rick admitted and heard Cliff humming, processing the information. ‘I t-took the exam f-f-five times. Failed every one. I don’t have money for another c-course and honestly I don’t wanna bother.’

Rick expected a laugh from Cliff, a little insult about how dumb he was, because that’s what he was used to, but Cliff just nodded and didn’t push the conversation any further.

‘It’s a shame no one’s driving it.’

‘Francesca t-takes it for a drive sometimes.’ Rick said, and it seemed to grab Cliff’s attention.

‘Cool. You go on road trips together or something?’

‘Something like that. W-we wanted to skip school a-and drive to Kansas once, but we got a flat tire and none of us knew how to fix it.’ Rick chuckled and heard Cliff laugh as well.

‘Shit, she’s taking good care of you. You’re lucky to have a girl like that-‘

‘She’s not my girlfriend.’ Rick cut him off, not sure why he would jump to clarify that assumption so fast.

‘Oh, alright.’ Cliff said, and lit another cigarette. An awkward silence fell between the boys for a moment, and Rick couldn’t help but feel strange. He knew questions about why they weren’t together were gonna come up sooner or later, and it was the last thing he wanted to talk about with Cliff. 

‘She’s into you though.’ Cliff suddenly broke the silence.

‘W-what?’

‘Don’t tell me you didn’t notice. She clearly has the hots for you. I could see that by the way she was cheering you on during the show. Or looking at you afterwards.’

Rick didn’t say anything for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts. He had his suspicions about Francesca, but he didn’t know it was that obvious she liked him. Rick didn’t like that. Francesca was his only real friend so far, and her having feelings for him would only complicate things.

‘W-well I’m n-not into her.’ Rick confessed, and immediately regretted it, hearing what question came next.

‘Why? She’s such a sweetheart.’ Cliff asked, Rick could see he was genuinely curious.

‘S-she’s not my type. I like her as a friend.’ Rick said and shrugged. Trying to finish the conversation as quickly as he could.

He didn’t like questions about girls. They made him spiral into weird thoughts and feelings. He never met a girl he would romantically like, and seeing how many opportunities for love he really had (he was a handsome actor after all) it was a little strange that no girl who asked him out interested him even in the slightest. There was still a part of him that hoped that it was just a matter of time since he finds the right one, but sometimes he felt like it wasn’t meant for him to ever find love. A depressing thought to say the least. Sometimes he even wondered if there was something wrong with him, because he did want a partner, but the girls he met just weren’t cutting it.

‘What kind of girl is Rick Dalton’s type?’ Cliff asked jokingly and pulled Rick right back from his thoughts.

The actor just chuckled and shrugged. Truly not knowing the answer to that question.

‘Dunno. H-honestly I don’t care about relationships that much. They are a lot of work, a-and I’m busy trying to have a career.’

‘Career?’ Cliff asked in surprise. ‘You serious about this acting stuff?’

‘Yeah. A-as soon ad I’m finished in this shithole I’m moving to California.’

‘No shit! Hollywood?’ Cliff exclaimed with an excited tone, and Rick nodded. ‘You think you can make it?’

‘I think I’ve got a shot. W-what else am I gonna do? Become a M-Missouri lumberjack?’ Rick’s little joke made Cliff laugh and that instantly put the actor in a better mood.

He was glad Cliff didn’t laugh in his face upon hearing his plans for the future, although Rick has left out his dream of having his own TV show or being the hero of a blockbuster action movie. Anybody with half a brain would know that’s far fetched.

‘What are y-your plans after high school’ Rick asked and received a confused look from Cliff. ‘Got any d-dreams?’ saying that he put on a more teasing tone, so he wouldn’t seem too serious.

‘Me? Good question.’ Cliff said and paused, clearly thinking about his next response. ‘I kinda go where the wind takes me. You can stop by here when you’re famous and all, and we’ll have a chat then.’ He joked and gave Rick another pat on the shoulder. He seemed to like to do that.

Rick just nodded and focused on finishing his cigarette. Being very surprised that the thought about taking Cliff with him to California crossed his mind. He considered making a joke like that, but Rick had a feeling Cliff would pick up on the sincerity of it and the actor would just embarrass himself. Not only that, he seemed like the guy who would agree to that plan, and that was a little much for Rick. Little too weird.

*

‘I’ve heard from Johnny you’re sweet for Rick Dalton.’

Cliff chuckled under his nose, knowing his buddy was just saying that to get on his nerves. It was pretty late, so having nothing else to do Cliff decided to buy himself some beer and bumped to one of his classmates on the way. His name was Terry something (jeez, was he bad with names), and Cliff didn’t really like him, but drinking beer with him on the porch in the town was way less sad than if he had just gone home.

‘And what makes Johnny say that shit?’ Cliff asked, still keeping his usual laid back tone, knowing that the guy is gonna stop being a dick if he sees he can’t get a reaction.

‘He says he was talking with Dalton, and you told him to fuck off. You came to this guy’s rescue like  
he was some kind of pussy who can’t handle his own business.’ Terry spoke with a very accusatory  
tone, like he was personally offended Cliff would step up to any guy from his little circle.

‘He wasn’t talking with him, he was being an ass.’ Cliff explained. ‘And Rick’s a cool guy.’

‘Isn’t he like, dumb or something?’ Terry asked with genuine curiosity which made Cliff give him a confused look.

‘The fuck would you say that?’

‘I don’t know. He speaks weird doesn’t he?’ Terry took a sip of his beer. ‘And he hangs out with the hottest fucking chicks in this town and doesn’t seem to fuck any. Weird guy, that one.’

‘Jesus, you got a problem with everything don’t you?’ Cliff laughed at the ridiculousness of the conversation, but couldn’t help but feel bad knowing that was the stuff people were saying about Rick behind his back. However the fact that there were people so stupid that the slightest deviation from the normal behaviour made them loose their minds. So what, Rick had a stutter and wasn’t a slut, big fucking deal. ‘Not everybody has to be like you.’ Cliff added.

‘Or you.’ The guy said, clearly a little offended and mad that the conversation didn’t go his way. Cliff just shrugged and they both continued to be drinking in silence until they had enough of each other. So they went home quickly that evening.

*

Rick got to school late that day, really late, but he couldn’t bother to give a shit about it. His morning  was a disaster, and all he wanted was to get over with this day as soon as possible. Only thing he looked forward to was the possible smoke break with Cliff. That always seemed to get him in a better mood. Although it didn’t seem like he was going to get that. 

As soon as he got to the backyard he saw a crowd of students in the basketball court. There was a lot of commotion, screams, shouts and cheers of all kinds. Rick figured someone was having a fight, and  he wouldn’t care about that in the slightest bit if he didn’t see Francesca and Sharon standing on the edge of the circle of people, trying to get a closer look on what was going on. Rick came up to them, curious and confused. It didn’t take them long to see him. 

‘The f-fuck’s going on?’ He said loudly, trying to be heard in the bunch of screaming students. 

‘Oh my, Rick! Where have you been?’ Sharon asked while the three moved back from the fight to have a conversation. 

‘I o-overslept.’ Rick lied, hoping nobody would push it. ‘A-are you gonna tell me what’s t-this about?’ 

‘Your new pal is having a dick measuring contest with the Asian guy from Sharon’s class.’ Francesca explained with an annoyed tone. 

‘W-who, Cliff?’ Rick tried to look past the people, hoping he would at least get a glimpse of what’s going on. 

‘Him and Bruce do this quite often, but never in the middle of the school day like that... that’s why it’s a big deal.’ Sharon explained, which made Rick even more confused. 

‘Do what?’ Rick asked. 

‘They call it  _ sparing. _ ’ Sharon clarified and Francesca rolled her eyes. ‘They both know martial arts and for some reason really want to know which one of them is better. Now I don’t know who to root for! I’ve always cheered for Bruce but now that Cliff is your friend it doesn’t seem fair!’ Sharon whined, but Rick wasn’t really listening at this point. All he wanted was to see the fight. 

Somehow he managed to get close enough to see something. He was short so he wasn’t really bothering any dudes behind him, so eventually he got the front row seat. 

And well, it was a sight to behold for sure. It had to have been going on for a while, because both Cliff and Bruce were already filthy from the dirt they were falling on every few seconds, not only that, both of them were wearing nothing but their pants and undershirts. Not that Rick was staring. 

None of them was actually punching the other, which wasn’t the kind of fighting Rick was used to seeing, mostly they were avoiding kicks and deflecting punches like in some sort of Chinese movie. Sometimes one of them would put the other on the ground, then a guy from the crowd would shout a score and they would keep going. 

Rick was watching them both, surprisingly captivated. He was pretty sure Cliff noticed him, because as soon as they paused the beat down he sent Rick a wink. The actor thought of getting out of there, he wouldn’t wanna be a distraction. 

‘You know this is gonna go on forever right?’ Cliff jokes, even in the middle of the fight his usual tone still didn’t change a bit. ‘Let’s just call it off.’ 

‘Call if off when you’re in the lead? You wish.’ Bruce responded and charged at Cliff again. This time successfully throwing him to the ground. 

All Cliff did was let out a laugh and a groan of pain simultaneously. He got up, and seeing how Bruce was ready for more he threw his hands in the air and smiled. 

‘Alright. You win.’ 

‘Yes!’ Bruce threw his hands up in a gesture of victory and the crowd cheered for him. 

First thing Cliff did when he got off that basketball field was go straight to Rick, whom he saw from far away, looking like someone’s disappointed mother. He felt like he was going to get shouted at and he resisted the urge to laugh. 

‘Hey Rick, enjoyed the show?’ Cliff teased and could see Rick’s expression change from disappointed to annoyed. 

‘Ha ha, very f-funny.’ The boy said, trying to look less irritated. ‘The hell was that?’ 

‘Oh come on, just a friendly fight. Nothing really new.’ 

‘I g-gathered that. Y-y-you know that’s why people say the things they say about you.’ Rick rolled his eyes at Cliff’s absolute lack of reaction. 

‘And what is it they say?’ Cliff pretended to be concerned. 

‘Apparently people are scared of you. B-because you beat people up.’ Rick said, his tone getting calmer, which made Cliff take the situation a little more seriously. Well, it seems like Rick finally heard the famous rumour. 

‘Listen,’ he began. ‘People are saying stupid shit about everybody. Besides, I have never beat up anybody who didn’t deserve it.’ 

Rick nodded, It looked like Cliff’s explanation calmed him down a bit. The older boy was honestly touched that Rick would worry about his business like that. Shit, he was the only one that has ever actually asked him about the rumours, and Cliff couldn’t say he wasn’t a little impressed that Rick had the balls to lecture him like that. He surely would do with a friend who wasn’t either scared of him or had a strange admiration for his  _ bad boy  _ personality. He had enough of suck-ups. 

Since the conversation got a little too serious in Cliff’s book, he decided to go back to teasing. 

‘Why do you care so much about what people say ‘bout ol’ Cliff Booth?’ 

‘I don’t- I don’t care.’ Rick said and Cliff couldn’t believe what a bad liar he was. Wasn’t he supposed to be an actor? 

‘Aww, you do care.’ Cliff put on a mocking tone and received a punch on the forearm from Rick, who for some reason went completely red. 

‘I d-don’t. Fuck off.’ Rick hissed. ‘B-but now that we’re friends, y-your rumours are gonna be my rumours. So yes, maybe I do care.’ 

‘Aww, we’re friends!’ Cliff exclaimed, this time dodging another punch to the arm. Rick laughed at that one though, and Cliff wished he could frame that stupid pretty smile of his. 

‘Okay, let’s go. Y-you owe me a smoke. A-and put on a f-fucking shirt.’ 

*

‘I’ll never understand how people can enjoy fighting.’ Rick said as he took the cigarette him and Cliff  were sharing. ‘W-why do you like it so much?’ 

‘Dunno... It’s the energy, and the adrenaline. Kinda like a high.’ Cliff explained. ‘What, you’ve never been in a fight?’ 

‘Not a real one, no.’ Rick admitted. 

‘What does that mean?’ Cliff questioned. ‘You’ve got punched, haven't you?’ He said with a teasing tone, poking Rick in the arm. The actor didn’t seem like he was gonna laugh though. 

‘Who fucking hasn’t.’ 

Cliff felt a little bad for getting the mood down like that. Rick clearly wasn’t too comfortable talking about fighting and Cliff gathered he probably wasn’t best at self defence when it came to it. He thought for a moment about who would be enough of a bastard to lay a finger on Rick, and how much Cliff would beat him up for it. 

‘Want me to fight with you?’ Cliff asked, very much enjoying how confused Rick looked at the question. ‘Come on, I’m not actually gonna fight you. Just show you a couple of moves. Maybe you’ll get to punch me.’ 

‘I-I don’t wanna punch you.’ Rick said, still looking like Cliff had lost his mind. 

‘I’m flattered, but I don’t think you’re gonna. Come on, don’t be a wuss.’ Saying that Cliff jumped from the fence they were both sitting at and moved a couple of feet further away. Rick rolled his eyes but eventually joined him. 

‘You’re gonna teach me something, r-right?’ Rick seemed to get a little more excited about the whole thing when he saw Cliff getting ready and riled up. The older boy was very enthusiastic about sparing with Rick, even though he would probably do very little. 

‘Yeah, ever threw a punch?’ He asked. 

‘No, not really.’ 

‘Alright, here.’ Cliff put his open palm in front of his face. ‘Punch my hand and I’ll see where you’re at.’ 

Rick did just that, and Cliff was pleasantly surprised that the punch had more force to it than he was expecting to come from such a skinny guy, but for Cliff’s standards it wasn’t really enough. 

‘That was alright, but your technique is shit.’ Cliff said and got a very angry look from Rick. ‘Stand up straight, and get your elbow up when you punch.’ 

As he said it Cliff moved Rick’s body into the right position. The actor seemed really tense, which wasn’t surprising. Cliff figured he was in a bad mood today, but this kinda clarified it. 

Rick punched his hand again, this time it was better, he was a fast learner. 

‘I think you can do better pal.’ 

He punched again. 

‘That straight up sucked.’ 

‘I’m fucking t-trying asshole!’ Rick shouted which caught Cliff a little off guard. It wasn’t a playful shout either, this was just a plain angry Rick Dalton and Cliff didn’t like seeing that. 

Another punch, this time Cliff smiled. 

‘Okaaay, there we go. That was good.’ The older boy praised and Rick’s mood did a fast one eighty. He smiled and threw another equally good punch. 

‘Whoa, easy tiger!’ Cliff laughed as Rick did one of the classic fighter stances from some movie Cliff didn’t see. 

‘You said I could punch you in the face.’ The actor teased. ‘W-what would you do if I tried that?' 

Right after that Rick swung his arm, but before he could even lay a finger on Cliff, he grabbed his arm and somehow put the younger boy on the ground in seconds. 

Rick was a little shook up when Cliff pinned him down, not really understanding what the hell happened. He was right on top of him, still holding his arm and laughing his ass off at Rick’s confused face. 

When the actor realized what had happened he quickly pushed Cliff off of him and stood up, dusting off his clothes and muttering something under his nose. Cliff was even more humoured, because now Rick’s face was as red as a tomato. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading!! these two are super fun to write and I very much enjoy getting all the other characters from the film to fit into this highschool setting,, you can't tell me that Cliff and Bruce wouldn't have this weird rivarly going on lol


	3. road trips, tears and trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is a little shorter, a fun roadtrip that turns a little less fun as it goes on

Rick’s mood didn’t really improve much. Cliff noticed he wasn’t as cheery and fun as usual, and teasing made him cranky and mad instead of the adorably annoyed like it always has. He didn’t pry though, whatever bothered Rick was none of his business, but when the actor didn’t show up to school one day he decided to stop by his house in the next morning and check on him. Like a good friend would. 

Cliff drove Rick home once, so he knew where he lived. It was on the way to his own house, and he suggested picking Rick up every day, but the guy declined. Fair enough, maybe they weren’t on that level of friendship yet. 

He stopped on the road near Rick’s driveway. His parent’s current car was nowhere to be seen so they probably left for work already. After a moment of looking Cliff saw his friend smoking on the porch. He was wearing sweatpants and a purple robe, he looked like a real Californian star and Cliff had to laugh. When he was done staring he honked to grab his attention. 

Rick jumped and when he noticed Cliff he shouted something, put out his cigarette and quickly went inside to change. Cliff pulled in his driveway and waited for him, instantly getting into a better mood.  
When Rick walked out of his house he didn’t seem to share Cliff’s enthusiasm at all. He looked tired, and when he got closer Cliff noticed a small bruise right under his left eye. 

‘Hello sleeping beauty.’ Cliff joked and saw Rick roll his eyes. 

‘I-if you came to pick me up then I’m s-sorry, I’-I ain’t going to school today.’ Rick said with a blank tone. 

‘Well me neither.’ Cliff responded, just now deciding to skip today. He was gonna improve Rick’s day no matter what. He already settled on that. ‘Get in the car.’ 

‘W-where do you wanna go?’ Rick asked, confused, but not really discouraged. Cliff saw on his face that he was considering the proposition. 

‘I’m gonna take you on that overdue Kansas road trip. How about that?’ Cliff proposed, very surprised with himself that he managed to come up with such a great idea on the spot. Rick raised his eyebrows, and by then Cliff knew he was gonna agree. 

Rick looked around, chewing on his bottom lip and finally nodded, making Cliff’s smile grow wider. 

‘W-wanna take my parent’s c-car?’ Rick suggested, pointing to the garage. 

‘Hell yeah!’ Cliff exclaimed, turned his own car off and got out as fast as he could. Rick opened the garage door and watched Cliff excitedly examine the old machine. He never got why people were so excited about cars. 

‘Jesus Rick, you still have that flat tire?’ Cliff said, a little disappointed. 

‘T-told you I don’t know how to c-change it.’

‘Fine.’ Cliff sighed. ‘Get me your toolbox.’ 

*

The boys fixed the tire together, which consisted of a lot of arguing and very dirty work. However Rick had to admit he had fun doing it. Somehow even the worst tasks were nice when Cliff was around. 

Now they were driving another hour west. They talked about nothing and everything on that drive, listened to the radio and even sang some songs together. Rick hasn’t been on a road trip this fun since he was a kid. 

Cliff promised Rick he would take him to his favourite pancake restaurant right on the Kansas border, and Rick was very much looking forward to that. He wondered if he would ever take Francesca there, but his brain didn’t like that idea. For some reason he had that particular diner reserved only for Cliff. 

It didn’t take them too long to get to their destination. Apparently on the border was very literal, since it was the first place with people they saw when they crossed it. They got in and ordered their food, and Rick had to admit the pancakes were great, even with his shitty appetite lately he managed to finish a whole plate. 

‘I swear those are getting better every time I’m here.’ Cliff said, mouth full of cake and syrup. ‘Wanna get another round?’ 

‘Nah, I’m s-stuffed buddy.’ Ruck responded pushing back his empty plate and relaxing in his chair. 

‘Alright, your loss.’

While Cliff kept eating he noticed Rick getting a little nervous. He was constantly looking around the diner and tapping his foot on the floor. Cliff had no idea why he would be nervous, he seemed to have a good time so far. Maybe Rick thought that now that they were just sitting by a table in silence the older boy would start asking uncomfortable questions to start a conversation. Cliff was curious why Rick was in a bad mood, and why he was skipping school, and why he had a bruise on his cheek, but he wasn’t gonna ask. If Rick wanted to tell him he would have. 

‘Y-you know I never tried pancakes from our school. I w-wonder how much worse they are.’ Rick broke the silence. 

‘Oh they are infinitely worse.’ Cliff responded. ‘We can get some tomorrow.’ 

‘I a-ain’t gonna be at sch-school tomorrow.’ Rick admitted, shifting his sight from his friend. ‘I-I’ve got l-lines to practice.’ 

‘Oh, sweet. When’s the next show?’ Cliff asked, excited for the prospect of watching Rick on stage again. 

‘In a w-while. On the, uh, twenty... twenty first I think. Y-you wanna come?’ 

‘Of course I wanna come! Told you I liked the last one.’ 

‘Oh I... I didn’t think you really m-meant it.’ Rick said, his tone quiet and a little sheepish. Although it was really cute, Cliff didn’t like when Rick was feeling insecure like that. 

‘Why would I not mean it? Did you think I was sucking up to Sharon or something?’ Cliff mocked and saw Rick let out a nervous chuckle. 

‘H-honestly yeah.’ 

‘Shit Rick, I wouldn’t fake compliments like that. When I say you’re a good fucking actor I mean it.’ Cliff reassured, and he was pretty convinced he saw Rick blush. ‘I would have told you if you sucked.’ 

‘Thanks buddy... n-nice to hear that.’ 

‘Alright, so what’s that one about?’ Cliff changed the topic. 

‘I-It’s like a h-heavy drama. Some guy’s f-family get’s m-murdered and he-‘ Rick suddenly paused. ‘Y-you know what, I’m n-not gonna spoil it. It’s a really good script.’ 

‘Damn it, I was ready to listen.’ Cliff pretended to be disappointed. ‘Bet it's a hell of a part to act. Hope you can fake crying.’ He joked. 

‘I-I don’t n-need to fake it. I can cry on command.’ Rick said nonchalantly as he poured himself some leftover lemonade. 

‘Seriously?’ Cliff asked, surprised and a little impressed. ‘How do you do that? Do you think of something sad and hope tears fall?’ 

Rick wondered for a second before explaining. ‘I-it’s different for everybody. I j-just kinda, um, how to say it, I just kinda f-force my eyes to do that, y-you know. 

‘Shit, can you show me?’ 

‘I a-ain’t gonna cry in front of you.’ Rick said, sounding a bit offended at Cliff’s suggestion which threw the older boy off guard. ‘We’d look like a bunch of fags.’ 

‘Whoa, don’t need to go there.’ Cliff cut him off, putting his hands up in defence. Rick looked like he regretted saying that, since he shifted his eyes again and bit his bottom lip in embarrassment. ‘There ain’t nothing wrong with crying.’ 

‘When was the last time you f-fucking cried?’ What Rick said sounded less like a question and more like a rhetorical accusation. He still wasn’t looking at Cliff, just kept his eyes on his drink. 

‘Come on, it happens. You think I’m emotionless?’ Cliff asked, he didn’t manage to hide his offended tone, and Rick looked slightly intimidated, which wasn’t Cliff’s idea. He didn’t wanna argue with Rick and ruin the road trip. So he decided to just answer his question and get it over with. ‘I cried when my dog died, a couple of months ago. And it was for real, not just a couple of tears, I sobbed my heart out.’ 

‘S-shit, sorry Cliff.’ Rick apologized. ‘God, I’m s-such a dick-‘ 

‘It’s fine, really.’ The older boy assured, sending Rick a genuine smile which he returned shyly. He still looked really guilty and upset, and Cliff felt incredibly bad for him. He wished he could give him a hug, but he didn’t wanna overstep his boundaries. 

‘S-sorry to hear a-about your dog.’ Rick said after a moment. 

‘It’s okay. He was really old. But I grew up with him so it was really shitty either way.’ 

‘Y-yeah.’ 

Rick had to admit he felt like shit. He acted like an absolute asshole and for what? Because Cliff just asked to see his acting skills? The road trip was going great and as always Rick had to ruin everything by getting the conversation into this shitty and sad topic. And he fucking wondered why he didn’t have many friends. Never in a million years he would offend Cliff like that on purpose, but his dumb brain just assumed he was a type of tough guy who wouldn’t feel sad over anything, and shit, he should have known better. 

‘You know, I cried a lot in front of my dad when I was a kid.’ Cliff brought Rick back from his thoughts. ‘I thought he was gonna think I’m a pussy or, a fag, as you nicely put it.’ 

Rick would have told Cliff to shut it if the conversation wasn’t so serious. God damn it, he was such an idiot for saying that. 

‘But I was pleasantly surprised.’ Cliff continued. ‘He then told me that anybody can hide in their room and cry secretly, but you gotta be really brave to cry in front of someone and ask for comfort.’ 

Rick stared at his friend for a moment. It looked like he genuinely believed in what he said, and Rick has never really considered it like that. 

‘Hell... If m-my dad saw me crying he would beat the s-shit out of me.’ 

Rick bit his lip again, this time as a reaction to what he just said. God, sometimes he should actually think things through before he stutters them out. 

‘Oh come on, can’t be that bad.’ Cliff’s tone got lighter. Rick just shrugged, glad the conversation didn’t go further down the road it was heading. One of the things he really liked about Cliff was that he knew exactly when he shouldn’t ask questions. Another thing he liked was how Cliff seemed to know exactly what to say to get him in a better mood, at least a little. 

*

They didn’t talk about anything morbid like that in the rest of the day. They ate their dinner, smoked their cigarettes and when the time came they got into the car and drove back to good old Missouri. Cliff let Rick sleep in the car on the way back, he noticed the actor was tired, why, he wouldn’t know, but he wasn’t gonna wake him up when he looked so cute. 

When they got to the town Cliff gently woke him up, and he went back to the regular anxious Rick Dalton of the day. Especially when they got closer to his house. As soon as it came to view the boy looked mortified, he hadn't noticed it at first, but after a moment he saw that there was a woman in the garden. 

‘S-shit! My mom’s home!’ Rick shouted, looking a little lost and startled, almost like he was searching for a place to hide. Cliff thought he was overreacting, so he kept his cool. 

‘Easy pal, just tell her I’m dropping you off from school.’ The older boy suggested. 

‘In m-my car?!’ 

‘Shit, you’re right.’ Cliff laughed at his own cluelessness. He didn’t think the situation was too serious. One day of school skipped wasn’t a big deal, but apparently Rick didn’t think that. 

‘F-fuck, I think s-she saw us already. J-just drive. I’ll deal with it.’ Rick sighed, defeated. Cliff did what the boy asked him to and rolled up in Rick’s driveway. 

Rick’s mom was a well dressed middle aged lady, a very typical southern wife. She would look friendly if it wasn’t for the death glare she was sending both of them. 

Rick jumped from the car and ran up to her, sending Cliff a signal to wait. He wasn’t very happy with the way things turned out, he didn’t wanna be the one to get Rick in trouble with his family. 

‘Who was that?’ he heard the woman ask from further away. Her voice wasn’t that raised, and Cliff didn’t want to eavesdrop, but curiosity got the better of him. 

‘I-it’s just m-my friend, C-Cliff.’ Rick explained, sounding nervous. ‘W-we were j-just on an, uh, r- road trip.’ 

‘Since when are you going on road trips with someone other than Francesca?’ His mother said with an accusatory tone. 

‘What? Y-y-you know about my t-trips with Francesca?’ Rick asked, clearly surprised. 

‘Of course I know. You think I don’t know when the car’s been taken for a drive? Also, neighbours talk, Rick.’ His mother said, putting emphasis on the last part. 

‘Y-you’re not mad about that t-t-then what’s wrong with me g-going with Cliff?!’ Rick raised his voice, mad with his mother’s backwards reasoning. 

‘Go home Rick. And you better not skip any more school days, unless you want to get in trouble.’ There was a lot of venom in her voice when she said that, and Cliff couldn’t help but be a bit worried. 

Rick muttered something Cliff couldn’t hear, right then he heard a door shut and Rick’s mom came up to him from the back yard. He hasn’t seen a woman this mad in a long time. 

‘Good morning ma’am.’ He said politely, trying not to start anything, but she was already too angry for that to work. 

‘Out of the car!’ She shouted, and Cliff quickly got out with his hands up in defence. ‘And I better not see you taking Rick out anywhere again!’ 

‘Alright, alright. Sorry to bother.’ Cliff said, and quickly went back to his own car to drive home.


	4. cigarettes, parties and breaking the rules

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for taking so long, this one had a couple of rewrites and I couldn't think of a way to split the scenes into one nice chapter so it's a bit messy, but enjoy ;) also sorry for barely responding to comments, I'm very bad at it, but I see them and it makes me very happy when I get them so thank you a lot <3

‘Are you going to the party on friday?’ Francesca asked Cliff the next day. Rick didn’t show up in school just like he said he wouldn’t, and both of them were stuck hanging out together without their friend. 

There was some rich kid who apparently was throwing parties every month. Cliff never really bothered with any of them, but he knew the most popular people were always there. 

‘I wasn’t invited.’ Cliff responded, lighting a cigarette for the girl. He didn’t even know if you needed an invite to go there. 

‘Doesn’t matter. Rick said he’s gonna take you.’ Francesca spoke and took a drag. She was trying not to show it, but it seemed like she was a little jealous. 

‘Did he really?’ Cliff asked in surprise and Francesca nodded, he wondered why Rick hadn't told him about his plans himself. ‘What about you?’ 

‘I was gonna go anyway.’ 

They smoked in silence for a moment, both of them probably thinking about how much more fun and much less awkward it would be if Rick was there. 

‘I wanted to thank you.’ Francesca broke the silence, and Cliff looked up at her, a tad confused. ‘For taking such good care of Rick.’ She explained. ‘He gets a little... gloomy sometimes. I can never get him out of the house when he’s like that. You didn’t even have to try.’ 

Cliff smiled, appreciating how good of a friend Francesca tried to be, even if it wasn’t working. He wondered what made him so special. 

‘Is Rick often like that?’ He asked, concerned. 

Francesca nodded. ‘He’s gonna be alright. He always is.’ 

*

When Rick came back to school after the weekend he wasn’t much better, but he was better. Cliff could easily see that. He was less cranky and more excitable than before, and spending time with him again was Cliff’s favourite part of going to school. 

They talked about the party, Cliff brought it up and coursed Rick to reveal his plans to go together. It was very funny how embarrassed he got when asking his friend to go to a simple party with him. Cliff would love to spend time with him anywhere, even if it just meant drinking cheap beer and watching a bad movie. 

What Rick was most excited about was the play he was supposed to star in, but as luck would have it his plans for that were ruined. 

Rick asked Cliff to keep him company during the rehearsals, and he of course agreed. Right when they got to the theatre hall Rick was told to meet up with their professor backstage, it didn’t look like anything worrisome at first, but less than a minute later Rick ran out of the hall absolutely livid. It was a bad sign if he didn’t even manage to tell Cliff what happened. 

He ran after him outside, first thing he saw the actor do was try to light a cigarette with a really shaky hand. 

‘It’s fucking bullshit!’ Rick shouted as he threw the lighter right against the building wall, making it shatter into pieces. 

Cliff stood there, not really knowing what to say. All he did was light one of his own cigarettes and gave it to his friend. 

Rick took it and instantly turned his head away from Cliff. The older boy has never seen him so upset before. 

‘T-they fucking g-gave my part to S-Steve!’ Rick shouted, his voice was shaky, making his stutter worse than usual. ‘B-b-because I f-fucking skipped, what, o-one rehearsal?!’ 

‘Hey man, it’s their loss.’ Cliff tried to comfort him, but honestly had no idea if it was working. 

‘Christ, I’m s-so f-f-fucking useless.’ Rick muttered with a broken voice and brought a hand up to cover his face. ‘I c-can’t even k-k-keep a role.’ 

Cliff’s heart broke at the sight of his friend. Rick went quiet and desperately tried to hold back a sob while his eyes filled with tears. All he did was sniff a couple of times between taking drags from his cigarette, but when he couldn’t hold it anymore and Cliff saw him cry he decided he wasn’t just gonna stand there and do nothing.

Instead he put a hand on Rick’s shoulder in a gesture of comfort, what he didn’t expect was for him to instantly move closer and go for a tight hug. Cliff didn’t mind. He let Rick cry on his shoulder as much as he needed to, and when it looked like he calmed down he shushed him and started to speak. 

‘You’re gonna get your next role and blow them away, they’re gonna regret ever kicking you out.’ Cliff said as he rubbed Rick’s back. The actor mumbled something into his shirt and let out a sob again. ‘You know, next time I’m gonna personally get you to every rehearsal you get.’ Cliff proposed with a lighter tone and heard Rick quietly chuckle. 

‘S-shit, s-sorry.’ Rick broke the hug and seemed to calm down a little, but wasn’t done crying at all. ‘I c-can’t even han-handle g-getting f-f-fucking kicked out-‘ 

‘Hey, it’s alright.’ Cliff shushed him when he saw Rick’s eyes tear up again. The actor sniffed a couple of times and actually managed to hold it in this time. Cliff moved closer to hold him again, knowing how it gave the younger boy some comfort he wasn’t gonna break it, they stayed like this until the break ended and they heard the school bell ring. Cliff was ready to go back to his class but seeing how Rick wasn’t going anywhere he decided to stay with him, even if it meant getting in trouble for skipping class again. 

‘I’m f-fine Cliff.’ Rick said calmly after a moment of silence. ‘Y-you can l-leave.’ 

‘I ain’t going anywhere. I gotta look out for you buddy.’ He said and gave Rick a pat on the back. The actor finally managed to crack a smile and he quickly returned the gesture. 

‘S-shit Cliff... y-you’re a good f-friend.’ 

Cliff couldn’t recall if he was ever happier than in that moment. By then he was sure he would do anything for Rick Dalton. 

*

Cliff knew back then that he was also royally fucked. 

Him and Rick spend much more time together than usual, and after Rick’s little meltdown they seemed to get even closer. They would meet outside of school more often, go to the cinema and out for dinners together, sometimes they even met at Cliff’s house when he needed to watch his new puppy, and Rick instantly got along with her which couldn’t make Cliff more happy. Even Sharon and Francesca  
noticed that the two became practically inseparable, and it was only the day before the party that Cliff realized what was going on. 

He was picking out clothes for the night, something he very rarely did, and when his mom noticed it she teased him and asked if he was going on a date. 

And Cliff said yes like an absolute idiot. Normally he would laugh or make a joke out of it. Say Rick’s his new girlfriend or something like that, and his mom would laugh, but he kept it at that, mostly because it all clicked for him in that moment. 

He was into Rick. Like he would be into some girl. Rick wasn’t some girl though, so far he was much better than any girl he’s ever been with. 

Cliff knew he was a little queer from a very young age. It didn’t really bother him though, as long as he knew he was into women as well it wasn’t a big deal. He has fooled around with boys, some of them even from his school, but he always took it as experimenting and having harmless fun that didn’t really mean anything. With Rick it was different. If he slept with a boy he could always say we were trying things out, but being in love? That was very different.

He honestly had his suspicions about Ruck being gay, with how he didn’t seem to be into women at all, or how he looked at him and Bruce that one time, but Cliff had no idea if the actor even knew that about himself, also there was a chance he was completely wrong and the suspition was just him being hopeful. 

Cliff knew Rick wouldn’t just end their friendship over something like that. He was too sweet of a guy to do that. If Cliff told him how he felt, the worst thing that could happen was just being rejected, and that wasn’t anything new. They could still be friends even if Cliff found him attractive. Case in point, Rick and Francesca. 

Cliff needed to wait though, before saying anything. He needed to know how Rick felt about the whole queer thing. He didn’t mind it, but he didn’t want a scandal either. This was a small town and people talked a lot. He was gonna give them both time to sort things out. Tonight he was gonna enjoy the stupid party and Rick’s company. As he always did. 

* 

Rick had been getting ready for the party pretty much since morning. He was both excited and nervous about it at the same time. It’s been a while since he got invited to something like that and he needed to make a good impression on the most important people from school. He was told many times that his obsession with good reputation was a bit much, but if he wanted to be famous one day he can’t have people from his hometown remember him as a loser. 

He managed to be ready in time for Cliff to pick him up. They were gonna walk because they both planned on getting wasted. Rick knew that no matter how this party goes it’s gonna be fun either way, because Cliff’s gonna be there. 

They met up with Francesca on the way there, and Rick was very impressed how not nervous she was. Honestly he was a little jealous of her carefree attitude. 

The first few hours didn’t go as bad and awkward as Rick predicted. His friendship with Sharon was what got him to be seen as on the same level as any other popular person, so he managed to chat with a bunch of people he admired, including Sharon’s new boyfriend, Roman. 

‘I showed one of my scripts to the drama professor,’ Roman spoke as he poured Sharon and Rick a drink. ‘She said it’s good enough to turn into a play, would be nice if you were in it.’ 

‘R-really?’ Rick asked in disbelief, this was going great already. 

‘I told Roman how good you are.’ Sharon interrupted with a sweet tone. ‘It’s a shame Steve snatched your part.’ 

‘Y-yeah. A real shame.’ 

As much as Rick didn’t like being reminded of that, the conversation went amazing and he managed to secure a role in Roman’s play for good. 

As the evening went he drank more booze and talked with more people who all were nice enough so Rick wouldn’t feel too out of place. He would do without all the comments about his stutter though, it wasn’t his fault it got worse when he was drunk. 

And he was really drunk. It was fairly late when he finally felt the real result of all the alcohol. He got tired and dizzy, but he wasn’t gonna ruin anybody’s night because of that. He kept an eye on Francesca, who had a lot of fun without him, unsurprisingly. She was always a social butterfly and anybody loved spending time with her, however she promised she was going to keep Cliff company, and he was nowhere near to be seen. 

Normally he wouldn’t come up to her while she was busy dancing with someone, but now that Rick was drunk and still in a really good mood he didn’t care, so he just walked over to her and tapped her on the shoulder. 

‘Oh, hi Rick!’ Francesca shouted over the loud music. She was clearly a little drunk herself. 

‘H-Hav-Have you s-seen Cliff?’ Christ, he really couldn’t speak after this amount of booze. 

‘I saw him getting high with a few boys from the soccer team. He should be at the back porch!’ Francesca shouted again and Rick just nodded, deciding not to speak at all so he wouldn’t embarrass himself more. 

He stumbled his way to the back of the house. The music was getting quieter and he could absolutely feel how drunk he was. He couldn’t help but giggle at the thought of seeing Cliff. He hasn’t seen him since he was sober and now he was really excited and curious about how Cliff would be when he’s wasted. He hoped he would remember it to make fun of him later. 

He heard a couple of guys talk as he came closer to the porch. He saw Cliff smoking something and laughing with two other guys, and for some reason felt sad that Cliff had such a good time without him. 

‘Hey, look who’s here! It’s Dalton!’ One of the guys called as he noticed Rick walking up. Rick just waved, suddenly feeling really self conscious. When Cliff noticed the actor he grinned widely, clearly very happy to see him. 

‘Rick! I missed you. How’s the party going?’ Cliff asked, full of enthusiasm and a little bit of intoxication. The two guys laughed under their nose. ‘Come up!’ Cliff called. 

Rick just waved his hand dismissively, hoping Cliff would somehow understand he wanted to be alone with him without him having to say it. 

Cliff didn’t get it, and just gestured for Rick to sit at the chair next to him. The two guys were very interested in the dispute, Rick knew they wanted him to come so they could just make fun of him. 

‘I-I was... I was j-just g-g-going for an, uh, a smo-smoke.’ He stuttered out as he pointed to the nearby garage, just now picking the place. 

‘Wait, I’ll go with you.’ Cliff said as he stood up from his chair. Rick was so fucking glad Cliff could always read him like an open book. 

‘B-b-be back soon!’ One of the boys called, and the other laughed like a poor imitation of a stutter was the funniest thing he ever heard. 

‘Don’t mind them pal, those guys are dicks.’ Cliff assured as he took Rick under his arm and walked with him to the back of the garage. 

They were both a little dizzy so they sat on warm grass behind the house and leaned back against the building wall. They both found their stumbling around very funny and were giggling like a bunch of girls at every move. 

None of them minded how close together they were, the night away from the party and the people got cold really fast and before they knew it they were subconsciously cuddling together for warmth. Rick couldn’t remember when was the last time he felt so comfortable next to another person. 

‘Having fun?’ Cliff suddenly asked. 

‘Mhmm.’ Rick hummed as he closed his eyes and laid his head on Cliff’s shoulder. 

‘Talked with anybody interesting?’ 

Rick nodded again. ‘S-Sh-Sharon’s b-boyfriend got me a r-role.’ 

‘Oh, sweet. Hope it works out nicely for you.’ 

‘S-Sorry for l-leaving you a-alone.’ Rick apologized with a very sleepy tone. 

‘No worries. I had my fun and you had yours.’ Cliff reassured as he looked for something in his jacket pockets. 

Rick mumbled something and Cliff felt his body lean in further. He moved back and shook the boy awake. 

‘Hey, don’t fucking sleep here! We were supposed to have a smoke!’ Cliff raised his voice and Rick hesitantly straightened his position, still looking at Cliff with a dumb, alcohol induced smile. ‘Shit, got any cigs?’ 

Rick shook his head and heard Cliff sigh, but it wasn’t so bad since he was constantly smiling too. Rick wondered for a second what exactly he was smoking back there. The older boy pulled out a single cigarette out of his back pocket and held it in front of Rick. 

‘That’s all I’ve got. You can have it.’ He said as he pulled out a lighter. 

‘Nah. I-It’s yours.’ Rick mumbled as he refused to take it. 

‘We can always share it.’ Cliff suggested. 

Rick nodded again, looking at Cliff as he lit the smoke. He really liked watching him do that. 

Cliff looked at the actor and chuckled, probably amused at his dumb, but sweet expression. Rick knew he shouldn’t be staring, but Cliff wasn’t stopping him, so whatever. 

‘Wanna shotgun it?’ Cliff asked nonchalantly, but giggled a second later when he saw his friend’s confused expression. 

‘Shot... w-what’s that?’ Rick asked, getting out of the trans. 

‘Shotgunning a cigarette. You don’t know what that is?’ Cliff clarified and Rick shook his head. He saw the other boy bite his lip as he thought about something. 

‘Want me to show you?’ He said after a moment and Rick nodded. ‘Okay, come here.’ 

Cliff moved so they were now facing each other. Rick was confused out of his mind when Cliff straightened his position and gently lifted Rick’s chin. He put the cigarette in his mouth so his hands were free.

‘Tell me when you want to stop.’ Cliff said, and waited for Rick to nod. He did just that, still having no idea what his friend had in mind. 

He took a deep drag from the cigarette and before Rick could in any way react he moved closer, placed a hand on his shoulder and kissed him. 

Well, it wasn’t exactly kissing, more just sharing the smoke together. For a moment Rick was absolutely mortified, but as soon as he realized what was going on he let Cliff do whatever he wanted. He closed his eyes and relaxed, feeling Cliff’s lips on his and his hand on his neck. It would feel good if it wasn’t for the sudden taste of second hand smoke in his lungs. 

Rick broke the kiss and coughed a few times. He was used to cigarettes, but this took him off guard. Cliff smiled at him and gave him a pat on the back as he collected himself. 

‘Feels weird doesn’t it?’ Cliff said lightly and took another drag, this time to himself. ‘By the way, I’ve never done it before, it’s kinda fun.'

‘C-can we t-try again?’ Rick asked, hoping Cliff wouldn’t think much about it. He just wanted to do it right this time, that’s all. 

‘Sure.’ Cliff said and repeated his previous actions. 

This time Rick was ready, and he took the smoke in like he normally would. He wouldn’t let himself interrupt whatever they were doing again. This time Rick actually moved his lips, and the whole thing became less about the smoking and more about the... well about the kissing. 

Rick didn’t think something he did so many times with girls could feel so much better. They both took a breath of fresh air, but the kiss didn’t stop. Rick wouldn’t let it stop, not this soon at least. Not when it felt this good. 

Rick felt Cliff’s hand run through the actor’s messy hair and decided it was appropriate for him to do the same. He placed his one arm on Cliff’s waist and the other on his shoulder as he leaned further into him. All Cliff did was let out a soft whoa and kissed Rick even deeper, this time sliding his tongue in. 

There was this feeling of guilt in the back of Rick’s mind. He knew what they were doing wasn’t right, but he was also underage drinking, and lying to his parents about where he was, so he was breaking rules either way. And this so far was the best way to break them. Even though the kiss became more sloppy and lazy now, they both still enjoyed it and continued running hands on all over  
each other’s bodies and just shamelessly making out like the teenagers they were, and Rick prayed that this moment would never end. 

It did obviously, because soon they heard a voice approaching the back of the house. Some random, very drunk girl none of them knew was looking for a bathroom. She was the most harmless person that could have walked in on them, but they still jumped apart upon hearing her voice like their bodies suddenly burned one another. 

They quickly got up and ran off so the girl wouldn’t see them. When they finally got back to the party they just laughed it off and decided to resume their previous evening activities and forget what just happened for the night.


	5. The Daltons and Mrs Booth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for keeping you all waiting for so long, but I'm back and I hope you like the rest of the story.  
> also, tw for depictions of abuse in the first part, it's not long but I'm putting a warning just in case, it gets more light-hearted after that.

Rick woke up the next day in his own bed, smelling of old booze and feeling like shit. He always forgot how bad his hungover could get. Now his head was pounding from the sound of the garbage truck outside and his eyes were hurting from the amount of light in his room. He groaned in pain and buried himself under his pillow hoping he could get a bit more sleep. He didn’t entirely remember how he got to his house last night, he figured he probably walked with Cliff, he always took good care of him. Rick must have been really hammered since he hasn’t even changed from his evening attire. He was gonna take a shower, but first he wanted to get a couple more hours of sleep. 

He didn’t manage that unfortunately, since right after the garbage truck became quiet he could hear his name shouted from downstairs. 

It was his father’s angry growl, and Rick didn’t give a shit for a moment, thinking that his dad wouldn’t die if he waited a little. 

‘Downstairs! Right now!’ His father screamed and this time it really got to Rick what was going on. He quickly got up from his bed, and ignoring the horrible headache changed his shirt and ran down, hoping his father wasn’t too angry, but he knew it was a lost cause. 

He saw his parents sitting by the dining table, his mom was smoking casually, looking at Rick with a disappointed glare. His father sat across from her, trying to keep a straight face, but Rick knew he was livid. 

‘Where have you been yesterday?’ his mother asked calmly, and Rick knew right then that he was fucked. 

‘I-I was at a, uh, at F-Francesca’s.’ Rick said, having trouble making the lie believable. His parents always knew when he was lying. 

His father got up from the table and stood across from him, getting dangerously close. He always did that when he wanted to be intimidating, and Rick hated it. But it was fucking working. 

‘Don’t lie to your mother.’ He said, it sounded like he had a hard time keeping the calm tone. 

‘I-I’m n-not l-‘ Rick couldn’t even finish the sentence, because his father cut him off with a hard slap. 

Rick bit his lip, trying to keep himself from getting upset. It’s not like this was new. 

‘You think I’m fucking stupid?!’ His father shouted in his face, and Rick couldn’t help but hang his head low and avoid eye contact like the coward he was. ‘Look at me and tell me where you’ve been.’ His father ordered.

‘S-school p-p-party.’ He finally admitted and earned another slap. This time his eyes filled up with tears. His father noticed and let out a sigh. 

‘Christ, he’s crying again.’ His father mocked as Rick tried his hardest to keep himself from sobbing. He felt like an idiot for always crying like that, it gave his parents more reasons to be disappointed in their weakling of a son. He quickly wiped his eyes, but it didn’t help much. 

‘Don’t try to make us feel bad Rick, it’s not our fault you keep hiding things from us. Your father is right to be angry.’ His mother explained casually, still smoking.

Rick nodded, hoping he would be left alone if he just played along, but his dad wasn’t done. 

‘Now apologize to your mother for lying.’ He ordered with an irritated tone. ‘And speak less like a fucking retard this time.’ 

If he knew it wouldn’t end in a disaster Rick would just punch his old man right then and there, but if he ever did that he was sure to end up in a hospital. He decided he would just have to endure it for another few minutes before he can get back to his room and hopefully calm himself down. 

‘S-sorry mom.’ He said, trying his hardest not to stutter. ‘It’s n-not gonna happen a-again.’ 

‘I sure hope so.’ She said with no emotion and waved her hand dismissively. Rick took it as a sign that he could go back upstairs, and he did just that. 

*

It was almost noon when Cliff woke up. He was sure he would sleep the whole day off, but a mysterious and continuous sound of someone throwing something at his window didn’t let him. He reluctantly got out of bed and without even putting a shirt on came up to his window with the intention to tell whoever it was to fuck off and let him sleep. 

He grabbed a pack of cigarettes and put on his sunglasses, the light was bothering him more than usual which would only mean he still wasn’t completely alright from yesterday. He sighed and opened the window, almost getting hit by another rock being thrown. 

‘Shit! S-sorry!’ Rick called from his backyard. Cliff blinked a couple of times, still adjusting to the light and clarifying if what he was seeing was real. 

‘The fuck are you doing down there Romeo?’ Cliff asked, a little confused but happy to see Rick nonetheless. 

The younger boy laughed shyly, and spoke after a moment. ‘Is it alright if I c-come up?’

‘Yeah. Come right in.’ Cliff called. ‘You wanna climb or will you get through the front door like a normal person?’ 

Rick didn’t answer, he looked a little embarrassed when he awkwardly pointed at the other side of the house and quickly ran out of view. Cliff laughed at this ridiculous little situation, and after a moment he finally got dressed in whatever clothes that were lying around and came downstairs to be greeted by the constant sound of the doorbell ringing and little Brandy barking loudly at the person behind them.

‘You t-took your fucking time.’ Rick hissed when Cliff finally opened the door and let him in. 

The boy passed him in the hallway and crouched to pet the little puppy. Brandy was wagging her tail and jumping at Rick, clearly very happy to see him. Rick looked happy to see her too, but he didn’t entirely share her enthusiasm. 

Rick didn’t look too good, he was visibly tired, his hair was really messy and his clothes looked like he didn’t put much care in how he wore them, which was unusual for him at any time. Worst of all his face was red and his eyes puffy, like he had been crying. 

Rick’s a crier, Cliff learned that already, he knew the boy cried over dumb stuff, he admitted that to him himself once so Cliff wouldn’t worry. So he didn’t. Just because Rick cried didn’t have to mean anything bad happened. Right? 

‘You alright buddy?’ Cliff said after a moment, he thought to ask just to be safe. 

‘Yeah, yeah.’ He reassured as he moved away from the dog, took his shoes off and neatly put them on a shelf. ‘It’s just—I d-drank too much yesterday. I feel like shit, b-but I’m fine.’ 

Cliff laughed, relieved. A bad hangover was a very believable explanation to a shitty mood. He started to vaguely recall how drunk Rick was when they got to his house, so much so he had to be walked right to his room despite both of them knowing his parents were home sound asleep. Cliff wondered if they had heard them, he wouldn’t like that, since he already got on Mrs Dalton’s nerves once and he didn’t need her to think he was a bad influence on Rick. Shit, he would say it was the other way around. He would never go to that party or skip school and go for a road trip if it wasn’t for Rick. It was just a little unfair if Cliff got all the blame for it, but he didn’t care enough to be bothered by that. 

The two went upstairs and called Brandy to follow them. Normally Cliff would clean up at least a little bit, but he didn’t feel like he had enough energy to do so. He got to his bed and without any second thought fell face first onto it. Rick let out a quiet laugh as Cliff settled in.

‘The fuck you’re laughing at? I’m tired.’ He sighed and groaned, trying not to laugh himself at his exaggerated tiredness. 

‘You got any idea what time w-we got home?’ Rick suddenly asked. Cliff could hear him making space on the floor beside the bed to sit there. He wondered why he wouldn’t just sit at the bed, there was plenty of space.

‘Dunno...’ Cliff mumbled and moved his face from the pillow. ‘Late. And I got home even later since I had to drag your ass to your place first.’

‘Really?’

‘You don’t remember? Shit.’ Cliff laughed in disbelief, he knew Rick got really drunk, but he didn’t think it was enough for him to not remember. ‘That’s real irresponsible buddy.’ 

‘Shut up.’ Rick hissed. Cliff couldn’t tell if it was a playful or angry kind of response. ‘You r-remember everything?’ 

‘Vaguely. I don’t really know what’s a real memory and what I made up. I still feel a little high from whatever shit I smoked yesterday.’ 

‘Y-y-you don’t know what you got high on?’ Rick raised his voice. ‘And you’re calling me irresponsible?’ 

‘Hey, at least I got home by myself, so that’s already more responsible than you.’ Cliff scolded, half serious. 

He heard Rick scoff, he didn’t say anything more, they sat there in silence for a little while and Cliff could feel himself drifting off a little. He seriously considered taking a nap, but he didn’t wanna be that impolite. Although he didn’t think Rick would mind. Hell, he could use one himself by the looks of it. 

Cliff couldn’t see Rick’s face from the bed, but he found himself just observing what the younger boy was doing. Now Brandy got on his lap and he was gently scratching her little head. They both looked relaxed, and the moment wasn’t at all awkward, so Cliff didn’t want to ruin it by starting asking questions. He was really curious why Rick even decided to come to his house this early just the morning after they saw each other, but any reason would be good enough for him. Even no reason at all, since spending time with Rick was surely his favourite activity. It was also very flattering that the actor would rather meet him then just rest alone after a long night. 

‘Think I’m gonna get a few more minutes of sleep, hope you don’t mind.’ Cliff said when he found himself unable to keep his eyes open. 

‘No, no. I-it’s fine. Want me to wake you?’ Rick asked softly. 

‘Yeah, you can wake me if you get bored. Or if Brandy starts acting up.’ Cliff paused for a moment. ‘Or you can take a nap too, whatever. The bed’s big enough so consider this an invitation.’ 

Before Cliff could regret being so upfront he heard Rick trying to stifle in a laugh. He smiled, happy he didn’t make anything weird. It wasn’t even about that, really. He just wanted Rick to be comfortable and the floor or a broken chair weren’t a good place if he actually wanted to sleep.

Rick didn’t change his spot before Cliff started to really drift off, He made peace with the fact that maybe Rick just wasn’t yet comfortable enough with him to come up for a sleepover, though he couldn’t help but think about how nice it would be to wake up with Rick next to him, a man can only dream. 

*

Cliff woke up about an hour and a half later, to the sound of snoring by his feet. He assumed it was Brandy, so he tried not to move so he wouldn’t wake her up. He quickly discovered he was in bed alone, just a little disappointed he sat up and to his surprise saw that it was in fact Rick snoring, sound asleep at the foot of the bed. 

Cliff laughed, he wouldn’t think Rick would actually sleep like that. He was sitting up, with his head buried in his hands on the bed, like he was asleep in class. Cliff checked the clock on his nightstand, it was almost three PM, so his mom would be home soon. 

‘Hey, Rick, wake up.’ Cliff whispered and gently nudged Rick on the shoulder. The actor didn’t react, Cliff just sighed and moved off the bed to sit on the floor next to Rick. 

He always looked cute when he was sleeping, even with the snoring he seemed so calm Cliff felt really bad he had to wake him. He moved closer, and his hand travelled to Rick’s face, to softly move the boy’s hair and put it behind his ear. Cliff chuckled to himself, feeling just a little bit embarrassed about thinking his friend’s really pretty. 

‘Rick, come on, your back’s gonna kill ‘ya if you keep sleeping like that.’ Cliff whispered and this time he saw Rick furrow his brows and change his expression. He hummed something and moved his face away from Cliff. 

‘Fuck off.’ He muttered. 

‘No, seriously, get up or I’ll move you myself.’ Cliff threatened, and Rick finally opened his eyes.

‘Jesus, I feel like my head’s gonna explode.’ He said slowly. 

‘Want some pain killers?’ Cliff asked. 

‘Mhmm. W-would be nice.’ 

Before Cliff could get up to look for something to ease his friend’s hangover, he heard footsteps approaching his room. Rick didn’t notice, and he still hadn't moved an inch from his spot, that was until the door violently opened and Rick almost jumped out of his skin. 

‘Cliff if you’re still sleeping I swear I’m going to-‘ Mrs. Booth shouted as she barged into the room. She cut off when she saw the two boys sitting on the floor. ‘Hello. I didn’t know we had a guest.’ The woman’s tone quickly changed to a much softer one. 

Rick quickly stood up, Cliff could see he was nervous by the way he tried to appear like he hadn't just woken up. 

‘I-I’ll should j-just go-‘ he said with a shaky voice.

Cliff’s mom didn’t respond right away, she just put her hand up so Rick would stop talking, he immediately went silent and the woman looked a little surprised at his strange behaviour. 

‘You must be Rick, right?’ She asked nicely and Rick gave her a quick nod. ‘Have you been here the whole night?’

Rick shook his head, and Cliff couldn’t help but worry that Rick was this uncomfortable. He was constantly looking down at his feet and would flinch at his mom’s every slightly raised syllable. Did he think she was going to be mad at him? Even if she was, he had nothing to worry for. 

‘It’s nice to finally meet you.’ She said, and then her eyes quickly scanned the room, her expression getting progressively angrier until she stopped to look at Cliff with a death glare. ‘How many times did I tell you to clean up your goddamn room?’ 

‘Jesus, it’s not that dirty.’ Cliff quickly responded with a tired sigh. 

‘Not that dirty?!’ his mother shrieked, pointing with her head at the various clothes and bowls of dog food on the floor, then at the piles of dirty dishes and comic books on every shelf. Rick just now looked like he noticed all that stuff, and he looked just a little disgusted, but less nervous at least. 

‘I can’t believe you invite people over to this mess!’ She shouted again and made Cliff just wish she would leave and stop embarrassing him. 

‘I was gonna clean up later, and Rick doesn’t mind. Would you get off my ass already?’ Cliff heard Rick’s quiet gasp at his words, he looked over at him, the actor looked mortified, like he couldn’t believe anybody would speak like this to their parents. Cliff wanted to smile and tell him he was just being playful, but before he could do that he got hit in the face by a dirty pair of socks. 

‘Downstairs in three minutes, dinner’s almost ready and I expect you to set the table.’ She ordered and after hearing a quiet  _ yeah, yeah,  _ from her son she turned to his friend. ‘Do you want anything Rick?’ 

‘Uh, um...’ Rick stammered, caught off guard by the sudden question.

‘He does, just get him anything you got me.’ Cliff said as he went up to Rick to give him a gentle pat on the shoulder. 

His mom left and only now he could see the actor get less tense. He let out a breath almost like he was holding it the whole time and turned to Cliff. 

‘I don’t wanna be a b-bother.’ He said shyly. 

‘Come on, my mom’s gonna be happy, I don’t bring many friends over.’ 

Rick nodded, still unsure about something. 

‘You alright?’ he said after a beat. 

Cliff raised his eyebrows. ‘Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?’ he responded and saw Rick wave his hand dismissively, and then he smiled and looked like he finally relaxed. 

*

Rick wasn’t very used to family dinners. Most of them at his house consisted of two things – horrendously uncomfortable silence or passive aggressive insults being thrown his way. He honestly didn’t know which one he preferred, although the first one didn’t usually end up with him crying. 

That’s mostly why he felt so strange sitting at dinner with Cliff’s mom. She didn’t seem to be like his mother at all, she was gentle, and nice, and he managed to have a conversation with her in which he wasn’t made to feel like an idiot. 

Rick didn’t know a lot of things about Mrs Booth. He knew the two lived alone for a few years, and he knew Cliff would often do a lot of things around the house to help her out. He also heard once she worked at the local hospital, she might be a nurse, but he wasn’t sure. 

She on the other hand seemed to know many things about Rick. Or, a non-existent idealized version of him. 

_ ‘I’ve heard you’re an actor, a pretty good one.’  _ she would say 

_ ‘ _ _ That you’re very ambitious, I wish Cliff had a plan for the future like you have.’  _

‘ _ I’ve heard you’re very popular, especially with the ladies.’  _

_ ‘And that you’re the nicest boy Cliff ever hung out with.’  _

It was all very sweet to hear, and Rick had to admit he was very flattered to finally hear something good about himself. It also put Cliff into a different perspective for him, since he was the one that had to tell her all of those things. He wanted to think it was just how Cliff thought of him, but he was pretty sure he consciously left out all the less flattering characteristics, it’s not like he didn’t notice them. 

Although Rick wasn’t very talkative - mostly because he was very nervous talking to his best friend’s parent - he did manage to have a few decent conversations with her. Cliff also helped a lot with steering those conversations in a safe direction. He was quick to answer questions that would get them in trouble, and very upfront when his mom would ask something too personal for Rick. The younger boy was very grateful for that, he truly didn’t have the patience to explain why he doesn’t have a girlfriend to another adult who asks. 

He learned a couple of things about Cliff too, like how many times over the last few years he got in serious trouble. Rick never knew the extent of it, but apparently it was bad enough he had to switch schools, was suspended a couple of times and also got in trouble with the police, but that was a quickly resolved misunderstanding. Now it started to make sense why people said he wasn’t the best company. But it was still Cliff, and honestly Rick couldn’t care less about who he was before, the past was the past after all. 

He also learned Cliff had a girlfriend before, and as soon as the conversation got into that topic he was weirdly interested and demanded to know more. He knew Cliff  _ spent time  _ with girls, how could he not, looking like that, but Rick never heard he was ever in a serious relationship. 

As serious as a freshman’s relationship can be, but apparently Cliff and that girl were together since middle school, and after they broke up she moved out of the town and Cliff never cared for any girl as much, from what his mom said it seemed like he didn’t have anybody else after her, not a partner and not a friend even. When Rick looked at Cliff in that moment the older boy didn’t seem sad at all, maybe he truly didn’t need anybody and being on his own was just how he liked living. Rick wondered what made him so special. Why was the insecure pseudo actor worth his time over anyone else? Guess he’s going to have to ask that at some point. 

Cliff’s relationship with his mom was unusual for Rick. They talked like they were friends, they bickered and annoyed each other yet still laughed about it and in the end it always felt like they liked spending time together, as much as a mother and son can. And Rick was jealous about Cliff having such a good relationship with his parent, how could anyone in his situation not be jealous?

When they were finally done having their dinner, Rick and Cliff offered to clean up and let Mrs Booth rest after a night of work. When they were done Cliff wanted Rick to stay longer, but the younger boy had to decline, he had to get back home eventually and try to make his parents less mad at him, and staying over at his friend’s house for this long was only going to give them more reasons to be angry.

  
  
  
  
  



	6. driving lessons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is pretty short, I wasn't planning on posting this part on it's own but the next one turned out to be so long I had to separate them like that. This one is just about Cliff being hopelesly in love, enjoy :*

Cliff skipped school on Monday, for no apparent reason really, he just felt like it. It didn’t mean the day wasn’t productive, he cleaned his house as much as he could, including his room, took Brandy for a couple of walks and when his chores were done he had the brilliant idea of pulling up to school in his car to pick up a friend. 

He wasn’t a fan of going to school before he met Rick, but now not going meant not seeing him, and a day without Rick, for Cliff, was a day wasted. He caught himself thinking about the other boy and just missing his company, it was sweet and worrying at the same time, this damn crush has been getting out of control lately. As much as he didn’t mind it he also kept thinking that if he gets too attached and Rick doesn’t like him back he’s gonna get his heart broken, if that’s even possible. 

Cliff parked the car right in front of the school’s entrance, trying not to miss Rick getting out. He’s familiar with the actor’s schedule, so he knows it’s about time he’s done with theatre rehearsals. Cliff wondered for a moment if it went well for him, considering he got his main role snubbed and now was stuck playing a secondary character. Last time they talked about this it seemed like Rick accepted that fact and was going to give his best no matter what, so Cliff wasn’t that worried about it. 

As Cliff kept waiting he saw a couple of curious eyes looking his way. Guys that he knew, his classmates and a few random folk looked like they were exchanging whispers about him. He was used to that, he made a name for himself in the school and in the town that didn’t put him in the best light, but he couldn’t help but wonder what this particular thing was about. 

He saw Rick walking out of the school with a group of friends, Sharon and Francesca were there, along with a guy Cliff recognised from the theatre troupe, but couldn’t remember his name. They looked like they were having a nice conversation, so Cliff waited a little until they all said goodbye to Sharon and decided to honk and wave to grab Rick’s attention. 

The boy with no name was the first to notice him, and he slapped Rick on the arm (a little roughly for Cliff’s liking) and made him turn around. Rick finally looked his way, with a confused expression that started to turn into a smile before the boy said something else that made Rick push him. He didn’t even say goodbye to Francesca and angrily walked away from the two. 

‘Hey.’ Cliff called from the car and unlocked the passenger door. 

‘What are you d-doing here?’ Rick asked, the nasty expression not leaving his face. He didn’t get into the car yet. ‘I thought you sk-skipped today.’ 

‘I did. Just thought I could pick you up.’ 

‘What for?’ 

Cliff shrugged and smiled, stopping himself from saying _I missed you._ Rick didn’t look too happy about this whole thing, he looked even a little angry, but it didn’t seem to be directed at him. 

‘You alright?’ Cliff asked. ‘Did that guy tell you something?’ Cliff pointed at the school entrance. 

‘Doesn’t matter.’ 

Cliff raised an eyebrow, by the quick dismissal he knew he hit a jackpot. ‘Rick...’ 

The actor rolled his eyes and sighed. Then lowered his voice. ‘H-he said my b-boyfriend’s here to pick me up.’ 

Cliff couldn’t help but laugh at that, he hears this type of teasing all the time, so it doesn’t get to him. But by the looks of it, it gets to Rick. He looks pissed, and just a little upset. 

‘It’s not f-funny!’ he yells, and Cliff collects himself and stops laughing. ‘It looks weird. Y-y-you pick up g-girlfriends like this, n-not friends.’ 

‘Come on Rick,’ Cliff says after a moment, surprised Rick got so hung up on this. ‘Fuck that guy, and if you really don’t want me to drive you home you can drive yourself.’ 

Rick furrowed his brows and sent Cliff a confused glance. The older boy was glad he at least managed to get that angry look off of him. 

‘I’m serious. You can drive.’ Cliff turned off his car and without waiting for Rick’s response quickly got out of the driver’s seat. 

He threw the keys at Rick, who caught them in his hands and chuckled softly, like Cliff had lost his mind. 

‘I don’t have a license you dimwit.’ The actor said. 

‘Well, we’ll count this as your driving lessons then, come on.’ 

Rick didn’t say anything for a moment, he looked down at the car keys and seemed to be contemplating the idea. Cliff didn’t care if he agreed or not, it was enough that he got distracted from what upset him before. 

‘I d-don’t w-want to get in trouble...’ Rick said timidly and started fiddling with the keys. ‘What i-if we get pulled over?’ 

‘Nah, don’t think that’ll happen buddy. Nobody pulls me over and I drive like a maniac.’ 

Rick laughed, and Cliff couldn’t help but be entranced by his stupid, pretty smile. 

‘I’m n-not—I’m not a g-good driver.’ Rick sounded a little insecure. 

‘No worries man, I’ll be there with you.’ Cliff reassured and gave him a pat on the arm. ‘You’ll be alright.’ 

Rick finally nodded and the two walked past each other to get to their respective seats. Rick took a moment to settle in Cliff’s car while the older boy looked around the parking lot, subconsciously looking for any other curious glances. His thoughts travelled back to what Rick said before, and Cliff hoped it was the only instance of someone picking on him because of his relationship with Cliff. _Shit,_ they barely started having a relationship so maybe this kind of teasing was happening before too, that’s why it got Rick so annoyed. 

‘Alright, I’m r-ready.’ Rick said and turned the keys in the station. The car jumped slightly as he started to drive forward.  
  
‘Try not to hit any of your classmates.’ Cliff joked as they drove off the parking lot. He had to make sure Rick wasn’t getting too close to the other cars considering how narrow the path was, but other than that he was doing fine so far. 

‘You’re doing better than I-‘ 

‘Shh! I’m trying to focus.’ Rick cut him off. Cliff just chuckled and leaned back in his seat, letting Rick have full control for once. 

Rick got a hang of it pretty quickly, he wasn’t best, that was true, he was still a little rough on the breaks or taking turns. He kept asking things all the time, to make sure he was taking the right path or if he was on the right lane, but other than that he drove fine. 

They didn’t talk much at first, mostly so Rick wouldn’t get distracted. Cliff found himself enjoying being the passenger for once, he liked looking somewhere other than the road, and to nobody’s surprise he kept looking at Rick. He looked a bit tense driving, but seeing him so focused, with his beautiful hair blowing gently in the wind, Cliff couldn’t help but feel like he was really falling for him. What a stupid, stupid idea that was, letting him drive. 

‘Hey Cliff?’ Rick looked over at the older boy, and Cliff had to avert his eyes and pretend like he wasn’t staring at him just now. ‘I wanted t-to tell you something.’ 

‘Go ahead.’ 

‘You know how I s-said I wanted to r-really get into acting?’ Rick started, he looked really excited about whatever he was going to talk about. Cliff could already tell it was good news. 

‘Mhmm. I remember.’ 

‘T-today at rehearsals t-t-there was this guy, h-he was doing casting f-for a TV show. TV Cliff!’ Rick exclaimed, Cliff could see the spark in his eyes, he hadn't seen his friend this happy in a while. 

‘Let me guess, he picked you.’ Cliff chimed in with a proud smile. 

‘Fucking picked me! Over—over everyone else! Can you fucking believe that?’ 

‘Ofcourse I can. Told ya’ you were good.’ 

‘I-it’s a one off thing though. A s-secondary role for one ep-episode. B-b-but it’s a start right?’ 

‘Sure, Hollywood’s waiting for you.’ Cliff said and made Rick look at him with a toothy grin. He would enjoy making Rick smile like that, if the idea of him leaving the State didn’t make Cliff sad, and a little afraid for the future really. 

‘I t-thought—I thought you could come with me.’ Rick said shyly. ‘T-to the set I mean.’ He clarified and Cliff’s stomach turned, he actually thought for a second Rick was offering to take him to California. 

‘What will I be doing there? I’m no actor.’ 

‘T-the guy s-said he could use some help. M-moving the equipment and t-that kind of shit. Don’t know if it’s paid... I don’t know. Y-you probably got better things to do... forget it.’ 

‘Nah, I’d love to come. Just to keep you company if nothing else.’ 

‘Really? Shit, t-that’s great Cliff.’ Rick chuckled, his eyes still full of that spark and excitement. ‘We’re gonna have so much fun. A-and who knows, m-m-maybe I’ll get something bigger from it.’

‘Hey Rick...’ 

‘This is just the start, like y-you said, m-maybe I’ll get a part in an actual movie or –‘ 

‘Rick, red light!’ 

The boy hit the brakes so hard the whole car jumped and shrieked. They heard a honk and saw a woman flipping them off from across the intersection. The whole thing would have been a little funny if it wasn’t actually dangerous. Rick looked mortified and held to the steering wheel for dear life. He took a long breath and tried to relax. 

‘You alright?’ Cliff asked, concerned about how tense Rick got. 

‘I—I’m s-s-sorry.’ The boy said with a broken voice. 

‘It’s okay.’ Cliff reassured. ‘Nothing happened, we’re fine.’ 

‘I t-told you I was a shit driver. Y-you shouldn’t have let me—’ he sniffed and turned his head away from Cliff. It seemed like he was about to cry. ‘W-we sh-should just pull over and switch.’ 

‘Nah Rick, you’re doing good. You just got distracted. It’s fine. You’re driving well when you’re focused.’ 

‘This is such bullshit!’ Rick suddenly shouted as he slammed his hand on the steering wheel. ‘I drive well until I p-pull some shit like this! Happens every time!’ 

‘Rick, green.’ Cliff calmly reminded, Rick angrily moved the stick shift and drove off. 

‘W-which way now?’ the actor said, annoyed he even had to ask. It seemed like he was starting to calm down, he took a deep breath and wiped the tears that didn’t even manage to fall yet. 

‘Left on the next intersection.’ Cliff pointed. 

They drove in silence from then on. Rick still looked really pissed and Cliff honestly had no idea how to get him back into a good mood. Driving was such a minor thing, but Cliff could understand his frustration. It’s normal to get upset when you can’t get a simple thing right. Cliff figures it’s the same with his speech, or his acting, or whatever else he’s doing that doesn’t entirely go his way. It sucks and he knows it, but it’s not like he can fix it. 

They pulled up to Rick’s house a couple of minutes later. The way Rick parked on the driveway was really crooked, but neither of them seemed to care for it. They got out, and Cliff decided to wait a moment before getting back in and driving off. 

‘You didn’t tell me when that set starts.’ He said and leaned against the car. Rick turned to face him and took a step closer. 

‘It starts Thursday aft-t-ter school. Ends Sunday. W-we’re gonna have to skip Friday but the drama professor said she’ll give us a pass.’ Rick explained, he looked like he was thinking of saying something more, but didn’t know how to phrase it. 

‘Aright, I can do that.’ Cliff said with a smile. 

‘Francesca is gonna be there too.’ Rick added, by his tone it seemed like this particular information wasn’t good news for him, and Cliff wondered why. Weren’t they friends? 

‘I didn’t know she was into theatre.’ 

Rick chuckled. ‘S-she’s not. But she is into acting.’  
  
‘Really? Then you two are quite the match.’ Cliff joked, but it didn’t seem to lighten the mood at all. Rick chucked sadly and looked around, he seemed a bit anxious. 

‘Listen, I better go before your mom sees me. Wouldn’t wanna get on her nerves again.’ Cliff spoke, lightly. 

‘Yeah, sure...’ 

‘See you tomorrow then.’ 

Then, seemingly out of nowhere the younger boy closed the distance between them and grabbed Cliff for a tight hug. It lasted a second, if not less, Cliff laughed as Rick ran back to his house, smiling and waving to him at the door and finally disappearing out of view. Truth be told Cliff was a little surprised at the gesture, is that really how friends say goodbye?


	7. two actors and a friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first day of the set, I thought I wasn't gonna separate it at all but maybe quicker updates of shorter chapters are better, anyway - enjoy :*

For the next few days the two didn’t really talk. Every school break Rick spent with Francesca on memorizing lines and worrying about the coming acting job. Cliff saw them a couple of times, nose deep in the script and recreating their scenes with each other. Knowing how important this was for Rick he never came up and interrupted them. 

He waited patiently for the day to come, since Rick promised they would drive there together. Cliff couldn’t say he was nervous, but he didn’t really know what he was supposed to be doing there. He was a little worried that it will turn out that he’s just gonna be wandering on the set aimlessly for four days with barely a chance to spend time with Rick. But honestly if it made Rick happy that Cliff was there it was gonna be worth it. 

On Thursday, a couple of hours after school Cliff finally stopped by Rick’s house. The actor was ready and waiting in the driveway, very well dressed with a script in his hand, apparently he’s not going anywhere without that thing. 

‘Looking good buddy.’ Cliff said. He felt a little stupid when Rick send him a weird look, but he was smiling so he must have just took it as a joke. 

‘Gotta make a g-good impression.’ Rick spoke as he got into the car and closed the door. Cliff could tell he was a little nervous, but happy nonetheless. ‘D-do you have all the documents?’ he asked after a moment, looking through the pile of papers he held in his lap. 

‘What, like my parents permission?’ Cliff clarified and saw Rick nod. He was told to bring that just in case someone needed him on screen as an extra or whatnot. ‘Don’t need it. I’m 18.’ 

‘Oh, Right, right. F-forgot.’ Rick mumbled. ‘Lucky fucker, my parents would give me so much shit. G-good thing I got their per-permission without asking.’ 

Rick smiled a sly grin and held up a document with Mr Dalton’s ‘signature’. Cliff laughed hard as he put the keys to his car in the station and started driving. 

‘You fucking bad boy.’ Cliff said, making Rick laugh as well. ‘You sure you won’t get in trouble?’ 

‘Nah, n-nobody checks that shit.’ 

‘Would your parents really not let you go?’ Cliff asked with a tone a little more serious than before. He figured earlier that Rick's parents were a little strict, but surely they must have known how important this was for him. 

Rick just shrugged. ‘I d-don’t really know. T-they aren’t fans of my acting. Theatre es-especially.’ 

‘Did they ever seen your show?’ 

Rick chuckled sadly. ‘Once.’ He said. ‘I-it was some p-period drama, with the – with the costumes and wigs a-and everything. They s-said I looked like an ugly woman and I guess they weren’t int-t-terested after that.’ Rick was laughing as he said that, but Cliff could tell he wasn’t happy about it. 

‘That sucks.’ Was all Cliff felt was appropriate to say. 

After a short moment of silence, Rick finally decided to change the topic. ‘Would you m-mind if I practiced my lines?’ 

‘Not at all.’ Cliff said and sent Rick a warm smile. 

The car ride wasn’t that long, so all it consisted of was Rick going over the script one last time. Cliff was impressed the younger boy was so comfortable reciting and acting out scenes with him in the car. If it was Cliff who was supposed to do it he would feel stupid. Rick really was taking it professionally. 

When they arrived on set the first person they saw was Francesca. She stood by a car and was talking to an older woman in Italian. Cliff figured it must have been her mom, when the two women hugged for goodbye Cliff could see Rick’s sad look. He figured he must have been a little jealous. 

‘Hi Rick!’ Francesca called and came up to give Rick a hug. She looked really happy to see them both. 

‘You two are pretty excited.’ Cliff said, but couldn’t really continue to have a conversation with them since right then someone else came up to the three. 

It was some middle aged guy, with a balding head of uncombed hair and badly picked clothes. He held up a bunch of papers and a cup of coffee, he looked like he needed it and hadn't slept for a couple of nights. 

‘Which one of you are our actors?’ He asked. 

Rick and Francesca both raised their hands. ‘This will be us... I’m Francesca Capucci.’ 

‘Capucci? Like the director?’ the man asked with a smile as he shook the girl’s hand. Francesca shook her head, but before she could repeat her name again the man spoke. ‘And you?’ he pointed at Rick. 

‘Rick Dalton. Nice to meet you.’ Rick shook the guys hand firmly. ‘Y-you’re the director, right?’ 

‘That’s right. Listen, you two...’ He seemed to completely lose interest in them, then he looked at his watch and continued. ‘We’ve got a bit of a delay today so we gotta get to work. You should—wait, who are you?’ he pointed at Cliff whom he just noticed. 

‘Cliff Booth, I’m here to do manual labour.’ 

‘Uh... alright then.’ He cleared his throat and turned back to the young actors. ‘You both go to the makeup trailer. Sidney there is gonna give you your costumes and get you all dolled up, you...’ he turned to Cliff. ‘find the set manager and ask him what you can do.’ 

‘Right on it.’ Cliff said nonchalantly. 

It looked like Rick and Francesca wanted to spend some more time with the director, but as soon as he was finished giving them orders someone called him from the set and without a word he left. 

‘Can’t believe I just met a real director.’ Francesca said, nudging Rick on the arm. 

‘Holy shit, right? Y-you think he ever worked on an actual movie?’ 

Cliff chuckled under his nose at how starstruck the pair was. They talked for a moment longer without Cliff interrupting them and then they said their goodbyes and they all went their separate ways. Rick said to visit them in the makeup trailer if Cliff is done with his tasks before they’re ready. 

So naturally he tried his best to be done as soon as possible. He met the set manager and got a couple of jobs that consisted mostly of setting up lights, carrying heavier stuff or bringing someone coffee. He didn’t complain, a job is a job, but he did find himself to be a little bored of it. To be fair this wasn’t his world - movies and shit. Rick and Fran were in their element, while for Cliff it wasn’t anything special and honestly he felt a little out of place. He was never a creative or artistic kind of guy, and all those people around him seemed to be, at least a little. He wondered if there was a place on a movie set for someone like him. He thought he would probably find himself better in a set for an action movie. He kinda liked the idea of fighting with someone for shits and giggles. 

When he finally had a little break he quickly used that occasion to visit Rick. He probably shouldn’t be running off like that, since he has worked for just a little over an hour, but nobody really knew who he was so he figured they probably wouldn’t miss him if he left for a couple of moments. 

He didn’t have much trouble finding the makeup trailer, the set was pretty small (apparently, it’s not like he knew what sets usually looked like) so it was easy to get around. He came up, knocked loudly introducing himself as a friend of Rick. He hoped the boy was there so he wouldn’t embarrass himself. 

‘Yeah, come in.’ Said a high-pitched voice from inside. He figured it must be that Sidney woman the director mentioned. 

Cliff got in and was immediately greeted by Rick’s warm smile. The young actor was sitting before a huge, well lit mirror, tying his shoe. Cliff found himself standing in the door with his mouth hanging open like a dunce, looking at his friend. Rick was dressed up in suit pants, very expensive looking shoes and a clean white undershirt. His hair was combed back into a kind of pompadour, shiny from the gel and looking a little darker than usual. Cliff only now noticed how much prettier his face looked without the hair obscuring it. Yeah, that’s how Rick looked - pretty. No doubt about it. 

‘Jesus, d-do I really look that stupid?’ Rick’s broken voice interrupted Cliff’s thoughts. He blinked, trying to process what was just said. 

By the way Rick looked at him it seemed like he was half joking and half worrying for real. 

‘Stupid? Maybe a little.’ Cliff teased and made Rick roll his eyes. ‘Didn’t say you look bad though.’ 

‘Sure. Thanks.’ Rick playfully spoke. ‘I’m not done, S-Sidney there is looking for a jacket that f-fits me.’ He pointed with his thumb to a further part of the trailer and Cliff saw a chubby woman angrily looking through a pile of clothes. 

‘I’m gonna find it!’ She called. 

Rick chuckled and when he was finally done with his shoes he looked over at the mirror and slicked back his hair a couple times, looking like he feared the whole hairdo might fall apart. He looked really cute doing that. 

‘Where’s Fran?’ Cliff suddenly asked. 

‘S-she’s changing in the other trailer. W-w-we spend like an hour on her h-hair alone.’ 

‘Here, try this one.’ Sidney interrupted and handed Rick a light brown jacket. He got up and started to put it on while the woman turned to Cliff. ‘Are you here for the costumes too?’ 

‘Nah, I’m just company.’ 

‘Oh, okay. You two look pretty similar from far away, for a second I thought you might be a stunt guy.’ She said, focused less on the two boys and more on getting makeup kits out of the many drawers in the trailer. ‘Then again, I haven’t seen a stuntman on this set in ages, poor actors gotta do everything themselves. Last time we had a set here a girl broke her arm.’ 

Cliff was trying not to laugh when he saw Rick’s terrified expression at Sidney’s words. He had a vague idea what a stuntman did, so he knew for a fact Rick wasn’t cut out for it. Knowing Rick, if he was asked to do a stunt he would probably do it just to save face and then hurt himself. 

‘D-do we really look similar?’ Rick asked shyly after he was finally done buttoning up his jacket. 

‘I think with good characterisation you could look identical.’ The woman said and patted the seat next to the mirror, signalling Rick to sit down. 

‘Really? I don’t see it.’ Rick said and looked up at Cliff, who just shrugged. 

‘Maybe we’ll look more similar when we’re older.’ Cliff said with a light tone. He leaned against the wall and observed how Sidney painted Rick’s face. She started by filling up his eyebrows and the boy looked very comfortable, like he was used to it. Figures he would be, he was doing theatre on the regular. 

‘Ew, I don’t wanna look like you when I’m older.’ Rick teased, looking up at his friend. 

‘Ouch.’ Cliff pretended to be offended, but couldn’t keep himself from chuckling. ‘I wouldn’t mind looking like you.’

Rick smiled sweetly and Cliff could swear he saw him blush. He felt a little proud that his attempt at flirting actually worked. 

‘Is that a bruise?’ Sidney asked, pointing at Rick’s right eyebrow. 

‘Oh, t-that’s—that’s old.’ Rick said, he sounded a bit worried somebody noticed it. ‘D-do you think the cameras will p-pick it up?’ 

‘Might as well cover it just in case.’ Sidney shrugged. ‘You never know.’ 

Rick gave her a quick nod as she pulled out more makeup from the drawer. Cliff saw Rick take a quick glance at him, but the actor averted his eyes as soon as he noticed Cliff was staring back. As much as Cliff didn’t want to, he couldn’t help but worry. It’s not the first bruise he saw, he didn’t want to assume the worst but Rick wasn’t a type of guy to get into playful fights. Cliff had no idea what he could do about it, but he’s sure as hell not letting anybody give Rick another one of those bruises. 

Couple of minutes passed before the three heard someone coming up to the trailer. Cliff turned around as the door opened and Francesca walked in. Cliff raised his eyebrows in surprise to how good she actually looked. She had her hair pulled up, neatly styled with a couple of shiny hair clips. Her makeup was really strong, with red and black eyeshadow and flashy lipstick. She wore a long, loose dress that she seemed very comfortable in and again, Cliff was a bit lost for words. Hanging around such beautiful people wasn’t doing any good for his own self esteem. 

‘Are you ready? The director said we should get going.’ Francesca said, pointing outside. 

‘In a minute.’ Sidney mumbled while she was still finishing up Rick’s makeup. 

Francesca looked down at the boy, and Cliff could see her face light up. 

‘Nice hair.’ She said softly and smiled. 

‘T-thanks. You too.’ 

‘You’ve already seen my hair.’ She teased. 

‘Uh—nice dress then.’ Rick complimented and the two chuckled. 

Cliff didn’t feel too good listening to them showering each other with compliments. He really felt like an outsider now, not to mention the stupid feeling of jealousy was very much present. He never thought low of himself before, but now he finally realized that Rick was straight up out of his league and compared to him Cliff seemed like such a loser. Francesca really looked like the perfect match for him and truth be told if he were to compete with her there was no way he would win that battle. Good thing Rick actually said he wasn’t into her, but it’s not like that can’t change. 

* 

Cliff was very happy he had an opportunity to watch their first scene. He hasn’t really picked up on the plot of the episode until now. He knew before it was some detective drama, but only now he found out this particular episode was a murder mystery, with a dead father of a wealthy family, an estranged son – Rick, and his girlfriend - Fran, who were both suspects. Cliff was pretty surprised that it actually managed to grab his attention, and since he didn’t yet know the final twist he was watching Rick and Francesca’s performances with utmost focus. 

And they were good. Really fucking good. Francesca really impressed him, despite English not being her first language she wasn’t making any mistakes and she remembered every line perfectly. As for Rick, he was just as good, if not better (but that could have been just Cliff’s crush talking). He was nervous at first, but after he got used to the cameras he became comfortable enough to even do some improv, which the director really praised him for. Cliff very much enjoyed seeing how Rick’s face lit up at every  _ good job _ . This kind of pure happiness looked good on him. 

The rest of the day went well, without any unusual events. Cliff spent it on helping around the set and occasionally watching the two friends work. Unfortunately he didn’t have many opportunities to chat with Rick, and to be honest he felt a bit side-lined, but hey, it was Rick’s day and as much as it hurt not everything in Rick’s life was about Cliff. He would be fine with it, if he didn’t start to notice that much of his own life was starting to revolve around Rick a little too much. But it’s not like he has any other person to cling to. 

He waited patiently for the set to end so he would get some quality time with the actor on the drive home at least, but to his dismay that didn’t happen. Well, he was still going to drive him, but the plans changed a bit. 

‘C-could you drop us at Francesca’s house? It’s n-not t-that far from mine.’ Rick asked right after getting out of the makeup trailer. He was back in his own clothes, but to Cliff’s surprise he kept his hair up in that pompadour. He must have liked how it looked.

The older boy nodded, wordlessly agreeing to Rick’s request. He tried desperately not to show how disappointed he was that Francesca was going to hijack their ride. Rick smiled and thanked him, when he left to find Fran and tell her his plans Cliff tried his best not to think about how late it was and how Rick was probably going to stay the night at the girls house. 

Cliff brought a hand to his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was ridiculous how jealous he was of a guy who wasn’t even his boyfriend. 


	8. jealousy, confessions and figuring things out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> things don't go the way they should in this one...

At this point it felt like a routine. Cliff would wake up early, drive to Rick’s house, pick him up, occasionally get Francesca on the way, drive to the set and then the three would do what they gotta do for the day. For the first three days it all went so smoothly it almost felt too good. Cliff of course didn’t enjoy being on the set as much as the two actors, and by the end of the third day when he worked his ass off and barely managed to even have a word with Rick he honestly couldn’t wait for this whole thing to be over. He didn’t hate it though, mostly because seeing Rick happy made it all worth it.

By the fourth morning Cliff was honestly pretty tired, so much so he almost overslept. He managed to get to Rick’s place in time, by the looks of it the younger boy wasn’t as full of energy as before either. 

‘Hi buddy, tough night?’ Cliff asked, with a tone that would come off as teasing if he wasn’t so tired. 

Rick yawned as he got into the passenger’s seat, and without even looking Cliff’s way he responded. ‘Couldn’t sleep. Fucking-- s-stayed up until three a.m. at least.’ 

‘Shit, let’s hope it doesn’t fuck up your whole day.’ Cliff started up the car, listening for Rick’s further response. He expected more complaining, or him saying that nothing can fuck up a day on a film set, but surprisingly the actor said nothing. 

Rick kept quiet for the whole ride which Cliff thought was unusual. He caught a quick glance at the boy but saw no new bruises. Relieved, he decided not to push him on it. If Rick needed a couple minutes of silence he was gonna give it to him. 

He half expected Rick to say it himself, explain what was bothering him, be a little mad, have a cry, or anything else. If there was something that happened between Cliff dropping him off at Francesca’s yesterday and picking him up at his place Rick would have told him – Cliff assumed. But he didn’t. He didn’t even seem that upset, and Cliff started to wonder if maybe nothing happened, and Rick just... wasn’t in the right mood. His mind flashed back to what Fran had told him way back – that sometimes Rick’s just like that, and that he’ll be fine. All Cliff really can do is try to make him feel better, just a little. 

The boy was afraid he wasn’t going to get a chance to do so, because as soon as they got to the set they were separated again and had to do their work. Rick seemed alright around Francesca, so Cliff wasn’t worrying, he even caught him smiling and laughing a few times, and when they exchanged glances the actor’s eyes would light up just for a second, and that seemed like enough. 

But Cliff also noticed that Rick was getting way more pissed whenever he would screw up a line or anything else. He would curse under his nose and get so worked up about it that his next attempts would be even worse, which wasn’t a good look for him. Cliff hoped he could reassure him just a little, and that the director and the crew would be more understanding, but he could see the way they rolled their eyes every time they were forced to yell cut.

There was a lunch break every day that Rick spent mostly with Fran and the other crewmembers, Cliff understood they needed to make friends in the industry if they wanted to get more opportunities, so he didn’t bother them. 

Now though, as soon as the manager announced an hour long break Rick was quick to come up to his friend. The actor still looked upset and a little nervous when he proposed they should go to the actor’s trailer for a couple of minutes. Cliff had no idea what was so important and warranted this much privacy.

‘I j-just didn’t want Francesca to—to hear...’ Rick said as he closed the trailer door. 

‘Is it about her?’ 

‘Uh—k-kind of.’ Rick seemed nervous, he was fidgeting with his fingers and looking around, Cliff was at a loss as to what was going on, and be really hoped this wasn’t going to turn out to be a confession about his feeling for the girl. He was pretty sure the sound of his heart breaking would be loud enough for Rick to hear. 

‘So what is it about pal? You alright there on set? I could see you gettin’ all worked up back there.’ Cliff decided to change the topic, but he regretted it immediately after seeing Rick’s sad look.

‘W-well I-I’m...’ Rick bit his lip, looking for the right words. ‘I d-don’t know why I keep f-f-fucking up. I w-was doing alright yesterday, and before... I don’t—’ he let out a shaky breath, the kind that might turn into a sob any minute.

‘Hey, it’s alright, you’re just having a bad day that’s all. Happens to everybody.’ Cliff comforted. ‘Why are you telling me this anyway, it’s not like I’m gonna give you acting pointers. You should be asking Fran about this stuff.’ 

‘Because I know I’m g-gonna—’ Rick’s voice broke, but he managed to keep the tears from falling. ‘I know I’m gonna c-cry about it... A-and I h-hate crying in front of her. M-makes her un-uncomfortable. M-makes me embarrassed and I don’t wanna— d-don’t wanna do t-that to her.’ 

‘Hey, take it easy.’ Cliff said softly when Rick finally couldn’t hold it in anymore. His tears were falling freely now, but he seemed calm. The sight of him like this broke Cliffs heart, but at the same time he was glad Rick was brave and comfortable enough to cry in front of him. He wondered what was so different between him and Fran enough that Rick didn’t feel like that with her.

‘Is she—Is s-she better than me, Cliff?’ The actor asked. ‘S-she’s n-not screwing up.’ 

Cliff was slightly taken aback, was this what it was all about? Rick was jealous? 

‘Better than you? At what? Acting?’ Cliff asked. 

‘At everything!’ Rick shouted. ‘H-how’s that f-fair? S-she’s got no experience b-b-but everything is going smooth f-for her! W-while I’ve b-been acting for years and I still c-c-can’t even speak properly!’ 

Rick wiped his face and took another deep and shaky breath. His crying wasn’t stopping, quite the contrary, it looked like it had gotten worse and to be fair Cliff had barely any idea what to do to make him feel better, but he was gonna try anyway. 

‘Hey, you know it’s different. Theatre and this. It’s not the same, no wonder you need a couple of days to get used to it.’ He said calmly, with a smile. Pretending he knew what he was talking about. ‘It’s not like you never stutter on stage.’ 

‘I—I do?’ Rick asked with a broken voice. ‘I s-stutter on stage?’ It looked like a whole new wave of tears came to him at the mere thought, and Cliff really wanted to take that back. He knew Rick’s stutter was a sensitive territory, that’s why he never brought it up. 

‘Just a little, it’s not noticeable.’ Cliff tried to ease it up.

‘You fucking noticed!’ Rick sobbed. ‘This is a joke. I’m a fucking j-joke.’ 

Rick covered his eyes with his hand as he kept crying. Cliff decided it was a good moment to give the other boy a hug. He wrapped his arms around Rick while he sobbed on Cliff’s shoulder. 

‘You’re not. You’re a good actor and I think you know it.’ Cliff said, as softly as he could. He gently stroked Rick’s back and could feel him relax under his touch. ‘It really is different on stage. You stutter once, you don’t even notice and the show goes on, right?’ He felt Rick nod. ‘Here you stand in the wrong place, the guys yell cut and you don’t know how you fucked up or if you even fucked up. No wonder you’re nervous. It’s fine.’ 

‘I wish I—I wish I didn’t get so m-mad about it.’ Rick said without breaking the hug. ‘I don’t know why—sometimes I don’t c-care, b-but now all I can think about is how everybody t-there looks at me l-like I’m r-ret—’

‘Hey! Don’t finish that!’ Cliff shouted loud enough that he made Rick flinch. 

‘S-sorry.’ Rick apologized with a shaking voice. He sounded almost afraid and Cliff felt bad for scaring him, but he wasn’t going to let the actor put himself down like this. 

‘Hey Rick, look at me.’ Cliff ordered as he gently caught Rick’s face with his hands. His eyes were red and puffy, and Cliff could see the subtle lines where tears wiped off his foundation. His hair got a little messy as well, so he would have to get it all fixed before the next shoot. Cliff thought he still looked very handsome that way, even if he didn’t like seeing Rick like that, he appreciated how beautifully his eyes sparkled with the tears in them. Rick would probably hate hearing it, but he was a pretty crier. 

‘T-the fuck are you looking at.’ Rick hissed and looked down, a soft blush creeping on his face. Cliff only now realized he has been staring at him with a dumb, loving smile. He wasn’t one to get embarrassed often, but he could feel himself blushing as well. 

Cliff cleared his throat and spoke. ‘Is that all?’ he asked. ‘That you were upset about? Fran and your... fuckups?’ 

‘I don’t kn-know...’ Rick muttered as he searched the room with his eyes and furrowed his brows. ‘I guess I—I guess I’m really just having a b-bad day.’ 

Cliff nodded and after a moment realized his hands were still on Rick’s waist even after breaking the hug. He subtly let go of him hoping the younger boy didn’t notice.

‘H-how about you?’ Rick asked after a couple of sniffs. Tears finally stopped streaming down his face and that made Cliff really happy. ‘Are you en-enjoying the set?’ 

‘Not as much as you two, I can tell you that.’ Cliff said nonchalantly, trying his best not to sound like he was complaining. ‘It’s fine. Wish I could spend some more time with you though.’

Rick looked up at him, seeming almost guilty. ‘Y-you should’ve c-come up. I t-t-thought you wanted some time f-for yourself...’ 

‘Nah, it’s fine. I know you had to butter up some folks to get more gigs. I would have just been a distraction.’ 

‘Not at all! J-jesus Cliff, I would’ve been way less nervous i-if you were with me.’ 

‘I don’t know how I would’ve been of any help.’ Cliff said and let out a laugh. He was relieved that this whole thing was just a misunderstanding and Rick actually wouldn’t be bothered by him hanging around. Now the rest of the day has was gonna become so much more bearable. 

‘W-well you just...’ Rick started. He bit his lip and looked down at his feet, the whole nervous demeanour coming back. ‘You just m-make me feel really—really comfortable... w-whenever you’re around.’ He chuckled, a little embarrassed, but decided to continue with the confession. ‘I d-don’t know what it is. I feel like around you I c-can... be m-myself. If that makes sense. As p-pathetic as I can g-get.’ 

Rick stopped when he noticed he was starting to spiral into self-deprecation. He was looking anywhere but at his friend, anxious that he said a little too much than he should have. 

All Cliff could do in response was laugh awkwardly. He had no idea Rick actually felt that way, and it flattered him a lot. He finally felt like he mattered to someone. And that at least a part of his feelings for Rick was reciprocated. 

‘Uh... thanks. Same.’ Cliff said and stopped the urge to slap himself. _Great response. Very thoughtful_. 

What else could he really say? Rick’s given him an honest confession and if he were to do the same it would surly be way too much way too quickly. _You’re the best person I’ve ever met, I might be falling in love with you and every time I look at you all I can think of is that night you kissed me, which you probably don’t even remember, and how badly I want it to happen again._

Yeah. Way too much.

Rick chuckled as he wiped his face one last time. The smile wasn’t coming off of it and by then he looked like he was in a much better mood than before. 

‘Fucking—s-sorry about all of that.’ Rick said, obviously meaning his meltdown. ‘We sh-should grab something to eat b-before the break ends.’ 

‘Yeah, good idea.’ Cliff agreed, very happy about the fact they were finally going to spend more time together.

*

‘I found a couple casting calls, but nobody is looking for teenagers.’ Francesca said as she sat down on the table next to the two friends. She was nose deep in a newspaper on a job section. 

Rick sighed and leaned back in his chair. He and Francesca have been looking for work this whole day, with this being the last day on this set the two were very eager to find something new as soon as possible. 

‘M-maybe we’ll g-g-get something at random like this.’ Rick said without much hope in his voice. He might have been in a better mood than before but it was still far from a good mood. And this job-hunting wasn’t making it any better. 

‘Maybe we should ask Sharon how to do it. I heard she and that Steve guy got something big.’ Francesca spoke, she didn’t sound too happy about the idea either.

Cliff listened to their conversation from the side. Rick wasn’t very talkative and would shut down every time Fran brought up job hunting or their mutual actor-friends. Apparently Sharon and Steve from Rick’s theatre troupe both got a small part in an actual film, and as soon as Rick learned that, he was almost green with jealousy. He didn’t wanna hear of his friends’ successes even though Cliff knew deep down he was happy for them. 

‘Apparently it’s got something to do with martial arts. And Sharon got Bruce to teach her something so she would get the part.’ Francesca continued with the story. Cliff’s ears pricked up at the mention of Bruce. ‘If I knew that’s how she did it I’d have asked you to teach us something.’ The girl pointed at Cliff, who was surprised to be addressed.

Him and Rick both chuckled at Francesca’s idea.

‘Yeah maybe.’ Cliff said. ‘But I don’t think I’m as good as Bruce.’ 

‘I t-thought you were an even match.’ Rick questioned. 

Cliff shrugged. ‘Maybe, but he knows actual martial arts. I just know how to fight.’

‘You don’t have to know anything. You just have to make it look like you know it. Movie magic, and all that.’ Francesca commented, and the three laughed. 

Cliff’s mind drifted back to the time he gave Rick a little fighting lesson. He was doing pretty well, and he was a fast learner so maybe this idea of teaching him something wasn’t that bad. The makeup artist woman also said something about Cliff being a stuntman, which was... an interesting idea as well. Even better, really. There was no possibility of Rick getting hurt in that scenario, and he could focus entirely on the acting part, and that would also mean they would be working together on every set where they would need stunts. Shit, Cliff’s gonna have to look into it, because this sounds like a dream job. 

‘Did you do that English assignment for Tuesday, Rick?’ Francesca changed the topic when it seemed like they didn’t have much more to talk about. Cliff scoffed at the question, he forgot the two were in the same class and cared a little more about grades than he did.

‘Shit, f-forgot.’ Rick hissed. ‘I’ll prob-probably do it tomorrow.’ 

‘What about you?’ Francesca suddenly turned to Cliff. ‘Got anything coming up with school?’

He thought for a second, he might have had a couple assignments due this week, maths homework mostly, some English shit he didn’t care for, probably. He honestly couldn’t care less, he wasn’t a good student, and no matter how much he tried he could never really get anything done right, so why would he try now, in his last year? 

‘Some maths shit for Wednesday, I think. I’ll probably pay some nerd to do it for me.’ 

Francesca gave him a judgemental look, but before she could say anything, Rick suddenly chimed in.

‘I c-could do it for you.’ He said, shyly, and made Cliff look at him curiously. 

‘What, need an extra pay check?’ Cliff teased.

‘I m-mean, I’d do it for free. Shit—I-I should probably pay you for—for all the gas you wasted driving my ass around.’

‘True... but for now I think you doing my homework is a good deal.’ Cliff agreed. Rick smiled at that, a sweet genuine smile. 

Cliff didn’t think of Rick as a nerd, but from what he heard the actor had a pretty good record, and was downright smart. Maybe even smart enough to not have trouble with senior-year homework, if he offered to do it. To be honest Cliff was quite impressed by that. As if Rick needed anything to be even more perfect. 

*

The set came and went. The moment the director shook the two actors’ hands for goodbye Rick finally felt that reality sink in. That what he had dreamt of for so long was over, that now the three friends would have to go back to their shitty school and shitty home lives as if nothing ever happened. 

It was blissful, in a way, for Rick. For four days he was out of his house, far away from his parents, far away from his shitty theatre troupe and friends that made them feel worse than, and far from the old life. It felt like he had a glimpse of that future he so hoped he would get. Not to mention he was there with the two people that he genuinely liked spending time with. 

He wasn’t that close with Francesca, at least that’s what he thought. He has known her ever since she moved here from Europe, but they never spent this much time together. Before she was just his buddy, a friend to go out once in a while with, or skip school when they felt like it. Rick hated to admit it, but he never realized how good of a friend she actually was or how much they had in common. He promised himself to never make that mistake again and keep that friendship going, because he doesn’t make friends often. He pushes people away and he knows that, but when someone patient and caring enough comes along and actually likes him, he can’t throw that away. He has to work for that friendship as much as the other person, and he’s willing to do that for Fran. 

Speaking of patient and caring, Cliff was a whole different story. They know each other for a couple of months, tops, yet somehow that friendship blossomed almost instantly. Rick had no idea how Cliff became so important for him so quickly, enough so that Rick didn’t feel all there if Cliff wasn’t with him. Even on that damn set, where they barely talked, Cliff simply being there made him feel so much more confident. Truth was it was strange, how the older boy seemed to agree to everything Rick ever threw at him, driving, working, parties, smoke breaks, cinema, theatre, road trips and so on. Every time they could, they were together, and after those four days spent like this the idea of them separating even for a day or two made Rick feel like shit. 

Rick’s never been in love before, but the idea of wanting to spend your every living second with someone seemed like a good description of love. 

Rick had trouble differentiating platonic love from romantic, he thought he never felt either. For a while that was true, but after those four days and after that moment him and Cliff had in the actor’s trailer... Rick thought he screwed it up, that he said too much, but when Cliff only laughed and looked like he was touched by Rick’s words, the actor felt like he didn’t say enough. Then he didn’t really know how to put what he felt for Cliff into words, and now a simple _I love you_ seemed like exactly the right thing to say. 

At first Rick was happy about it. He’s in love! About fucking time. Finally he doesn’t have to be alone and finally there’s a person he can have a relationship with, what’s not to like about that? Well, one thing really. That Cliff’s a fucking guy. Rick was deep enough in denial to get all confused right after he thought he got everything finally figured out. He can’t be in love with another guy. Not romantically. Maybe this wasn’t love, or was, but not like this. You’re supposed to love your friends, or your family. Doesn’t mean you’re suddenly gay if you do. 

On the way back from the set Rick was deep in thought. He spend the car ride looking out the window and saying nothing. Occasionally he turned his head to look at Cliff, and get his thoughts racing again, trying to figure shit out. Does he love him? Yes, he knows that much. Would he kiss him, sleep with him, marry him if he could? He didn’t like thinking about that. Because he was pretty sure the answer was also yes.

Wasn’t it gross, to think such things about your best friend? Cliff seemed like a guy who liked being perceived as attractive, so maybe if Rick ever told him he wouldn’t mind? 

_What the fuck was he thinking?_ Ofcourse it was gross. That’s not what you should be doing with other boys. There’s a reason people warn you about queers, or make fun of them. Like they made fun of Rick. Shit, if he looks like a queer then maybe he is? Maybe that’s why his parents have such a problem with him, amongst other things. That would fucking explain a lot. 

‘Hey Rick?’ he heard Francesca say from the back seat. He didn’t answer right away, trying to come back from being lost in his head. She called again, this time Rick turned his head to look at her. ‘Wanna come over? My mom made dinner, if we’re lucky we can still get some leftovers.’ 

‘Uh... d-don’t know.’ Rick mumbled, not yet ready for a conversation. 

‘Come on!’ Francesca encouraged with a smile. ‘I know how you love my mom’s cooking.’ 

Rick smiled at that. Honestly he would love to go. Staying over at Fran’s would delay coming back home to another nasty lecture from his parents about how he would never make it as an actor, and he was way too tired for that. However there was also Cliff, and Rick didn’t want him to feel side-lined again, part of him would rather spend the evening at his place with some shitty instant mac and cheese than dining with the best Italian food he ever had. 

Maybe being with Cliff wasn’t the best idea for now, considering Rick’s latest revelations.

Rick looked over at him again, he was focused on driving, but he could tell he was listening to the two. His expression was unreadable, and Rick wondered what he was thinking so hard about.

‘Sure, I’ll go. Why not.’ Rick agreed and send Fran a warm smile, hoping she wouldn’t see how fake it was. 

*

Rick felt bad Cliff wasn’t with them. But it wasn’t his place to invite him to Francesca’s house. If she wanted she would have done it herself. Apparently she liked Cliff, Rick asked her couple of days back and she said she didn’t mind him and that he was a nice guy. She also apologized for thinking he wasn’t at the beginning. 

If she didn’t invite Cliff that meant she wanted to be with Rick alone. They were friends, so it was understandable, it wasn’t the first time they spend time alone, but now for some reason Cliff’s words _She’s into you_ rung in Ricks head constantly. 

Maybe it was the way Francesca was behaving, how she was smiling, winking, moving and looking at him, like she was finally making a move. Rick tried his best not to panic and pretend he didn’t see anything. At the end of the day they finally came up to Fran’s room, laid in her bed and tiredly talked about nothing. It wasn’t the first time they done that, the two were affectionate towards each other for a long time, but for some reason now it felt different. 

‘You know, I never thought I’d actually get to go on set.’ Francesca said softly, her head leaning on Rick’s shoulder and her hand gently touching his. ‘If it weren’t for you I wouldn’t have known where was a casting even.’ 

‘I’m g-glad you came with me.’ Rick said, honestly. 

‘Was it fun, playing my boyfriend?’ she turned her head up to face Rick, who just chuckled.

‘Y-yeah. D-don’t think I would have been com-comfortable with someone else.’ 

Francesca smiled sweetly and moved even closer. Rick could feel her breath on his neck, but he didn’t move away. He wasn’t uncomfortable with Fran, he loved her, but the fact that she was clearly making a move on him only had him conflicted. 

He didn’t hate the idea of kissing her, kissing girls was nice, anything that made him feel loved was nice, so he didn’t push her away when she went in for one. 

It was quick, soft, like they barely touched. Rick tasted her lipstick and smelled her perfume. He didn’t hate it, but he also felt absolutely nothing. 

Francesca chuckled and blushed when they pulled away, Rick could tell she was happy, and he didn’t want to take that away from her. So he acted happy. It was almost like a defence mechanism, when he didn’t like how it made him feel nothing he just pretended. Pretended to be flustered and shy about it, like he would if he liked it. 

He sent Francesca a smile, and that prompted her to go in again. Rick didn’t object. Maybe if he tried a couple more times he would like it. 

The next kiss was deeper, with more rhythm and more touching. For Rick it still felt too soft, too tender. He felt like there was something missing, he expected it to come shortly, that him and Fran were just starting out and that it would turn around and suddenly become amazing, but it didn’t. He missed a feeling of something rough, someone who would be more in control, strong hands that would wrap around his waist and run through his hair, someone that Rick wouldn’t be afraid of crushing if he goes in too fast. Someone like—

‘Wow.’ Francesca breathed out when Rick suddenly pulled away. It broke Rick’s heart how happy she looked, and he wished he would feel the same. She was red in the face and her breathing was uneven, but she had the widest smile Rick’s ever seen her wear. She looked beautiful, there was no question about it. 

‘Y-yeah, wow.’ Rick smiled back, hoping it looked genuine. Francesca giggled and grabbed Rick in a tight hug. He laughed himself, surprised. 

Then without breaking it Francesca kissed him again, and Rick hoped that maybe this one would finally work. Three times a charm, they say.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! I'm still in the process of writing this story so feedback is very much appreciated <3


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